


Welcome to the Undead

by Impossiblefangirl0632



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/M, Fluff, HEA, Professor Ben Solo, Sort Of, Spoiler Alert - Freeform, Student Rey (Star Wars), They're Not, Vampire Kylo Ren, Weddings, kinda spooky, old architecture, or are they, professor/student, there used to be vampires but now they're extinct, to be clear nothing happens while he is her professor, vampire attacks, vampire rey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-01-06 01:24:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21218249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impossiblefangirl0632/pseuds/Impossiblefangirl0632
Summary: There's a prevailing rumor on campus that History of Architecture Professor, Ben Solo, is actually a vampire. Or it may just be one of Poe's conspiracy theories since after all, he thinks that Teedo is one too. The vampires have been gone for over 400 years anyways. What would two of them be doing at Dagobah University?Of course, her opinion might change when she blacks out in an alley and wakes up to a masked man claiming to be Kylo Ren, King of Vampires welcoming her to the undead.





	1. First Day

[Image link](https://pg-13reylo.tumblr.com/image/188663360330) “One more time, why can’t you take intro to astronomy with us?” Was the first thing out of Finn’s mouth when Rey met her friends for lunch.

Rey huffed in frustration. They had had this conversation about once a day since she told Finn her schedule on Friday. 

This was the fifth time for crying out loud.

“For the last time.” She stole one of Finn’s fries and gestured with it violently stabbing him in the chest before stuffing it in her mouth. “I have to take Intro to Architectural History because its the only class that counts for a breadth credit and my minor that fits into my schedule. I’m bummed about not taking astronomy with you guys too but you need. To. Drop. It.” She stole more of his fries.

“But you’re going to have Ben Solo as a professor!”

Rey stared at him quizzically. “...so?”

Poe spoke up, his super senior wisdom bursting to be shared. “Dr. Solo is probably the most feared professor at Dagobah. Brings students to tears on a daily basis, he grades really harshly even in his intro classes. Plus,” he leaned in conspiratorily, “There’s a prevailing rumor on campus that he’s actually a vampire.”

Rey snorted. 

“No, listen! No person from this century should be that passionate about crumbling old buildings.”

“I happen to care about ‘crumbling old buildings’” 

“But-” 

Rey cut him off. “Dr. Solo is not a vampire. I’m pretty sure that’s just you and your conspiracy theory that the vampires are secretly still living among us and they didn’t actually die out during the Thirty Years War.”  
Pow was not so easily silenced. “The guy has long black hair, is constantly brooding and wears a black overcoat literally every day. What man even wears overcoats in the 21st century?”

“Any man with class?” Rey started stealing the cucumbers out of Poe’s salad. “So he likes black and doesn’t care about supposed standards of male hair length and so what if he’s grumpy? I would be grumpy too if I had to deal with college students thinking I was an extinct blood-sucking monster.” 

Rey looked at her watch. “I’ve gotta go, class starts in 20 minutes.” As she stood up she grabbed one of Finn’s nuggets. “Thanks for lunch boys. I’ll see you later.”

She packed up her stuff and stood to head out. As she was leaving Poe hollered, “Eat real food when you get home and don’t let him drink your blood!”

Rey turned and called over her shoulder, “The very fact that you’re still alive is proof that the vampires are gone.” She left to the sound of Finn’s laughter at Poe’s pouting.  
_____

She made it to Intro to Architectural History with a few minutes to spare. She sat on the third row of the lecture hall behind a group of chatty girls. As she took out her notebook she overheard their conversation. 

“Why did you drag me to an intro to architecture class?” Rey could only see the back of her blonde head and her hands drumming on the pull-out desk but what she saw instantly classified this girl as someone who cared much more about her appearance than Rey ever would.

“Because!” The girl on Blonde’s left turned to her with a manic glint in her eyes. “Professor Solo is quite possibly the most beautiful man I have ever seen. The very definition of tall, dark and handsome. Plus,” she pulled back and waved a manicured hand dismissively. “It’s an intro class and we need the breadth credit. It’ll be a breeze.” 

“But you hate old buildings. You think they’re creepy.”

Rey rolled her eyes. 

“It’ll be worth it when I get him to-”

Rey forced herself to focus on something else. She had zero desire to hear about some horny freshman’s plans to seduce their professor. 

The door at the bottom of the lecture hall burst open with a loud bang. A man, who Rey assumed was professor Solo, stormed into the room carrying a large stack of papers that he dropped on the front desk with a resounding thud. He turned sharply to face them sending the tail of his black overcoat spinning in a circle and leaned against the desk crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

Rey took in his appearance critically thinking of Poe’s suspicions while the freshman’s hormone-fueled description played on repeat in her brain. He was tall, broad-chested, and wearing entirely black. She grudgingly agreed with the freshman that he was ‘the definition of tall dark and handsome’ though it was an unconventional handsome. His features were a bit out of proportion and he had a scattering of moles across his face. The way he was glowering at them all Rey could also see why Poe thought he was a vampire.

Chattering voices quickly trailed off under his intense glare. When the room was silent he began, “Welcome to Intro to History of Architecture. If you’re in the wrong class, leave. If you think that because the class title has the word Intro in it it’s going to be easy, leave.” He narrowed his attention directly to the girls in front of Rey. “If you are here for any other reason than to learn about the subject or fulfill a class requirement then get out.”

Shivers went up Rey’s spine. With the way he was glaring at the freshman it was almost as if he had read her mind and knew exactly what she had said moments before he walked in the door. 

No one moved. A few people dared to breathe. 

He gestured to the doors. “I’m completely serious.” 

Rey personally doubted he was ever anything but.

“Unless you are want to learn about the course material I promise you will most likely fail. You know who you are, now get out.” He enunciated the last words vehemently without breaking I contact with the freshman. 

She stood up with a huff and dragged her friend with her out of the lecture hall. A small stream of people filed out after them. 

Professor Solo remained silent until the last click of a door closing echoed in the vast room. He sprang forward. “Alright,” his voice while still harsh sounded more relaxed. “Now that they’re gone.” He picked up his stack of papers and distributed them to the different rows. “After reading the syllabus if any of you don’t come back on Thursday I will assume you’ve given up and will drop you from the course. We won’t be going through the syllabus in class because since you attend this university I assume you know how to read and going through the syllabus on the first day of class is a gigantic waste of time. If you email me with questions that the answer to which can be found in the syllabus I will dock your grade are we understood?”  
There were some scared nods.

“Good. Now,” The projector came to life and an image of Stonehenge appeared on the screen. “The first principle of architecture is the column and lintel. The prehistoric version made of rough stone is called a dolmen, sometimes called a cromlech. These were the first permanent built structures and the origins of architecture.”  
_____

Professor Solo it turned out, was not only the kind of teacher to lecture on the first day of class but also assign two chapters of reading due by the next class period with the promise of a quiz on the material covered. 

Done for the day and in the relative comfort of her dorm room, Rey was reading over the syllabus for Dr. Solo’s class. The conclusion she came to was that his reputation as a hard professor most likely came from freshman not reading the syllabus. The schedule was clear and detailed exactly when everything was due which was more than could be said for most professor’s syllabi. 

Tucked in the middle of the university required portion was a tiny little insert that made for laugh out loud.

“Dagobah University requires that congratulations if you’re reading this you’ve just earned 10 points of extra credit. This is the only extra credit I offer all semester. As of 2018, I have only had 6 people find this. To receive your points send me a blank email with your favorite architectural style as the subject line. Tell no one. The deadline is the start of class on Thursday. All students must be aware of…”

Rey smiled to herself. He may be grumpy but the hidden gem in the middle of the syllabus convinced her that there was a human being hiding in there.


	2. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Rose joke around. Professor Solo doesn't follow the syllabus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little heavy on exposition. I wrote so much backstory for the vampire lore and Ben's story. What's in this chapter is the cliffnotes version.

  
September 19  
“Rose! I’m home!” Rey dropped her backpack in her room and stumbled into the common room, kicking off her shoes after a long day.  
The fridge was still depressingly bare which meant a bean and potato burrito for dinner. Again. Payday was Thursday. Just two more days of potatoes for every meal and then she could get groceries. 

“How was work?” Rose asked from her perch on the couch’s armchair. A notebook balanced on her knee with her laptop sitting on the couch cushion.

Rey groaned. “Considering I’m home an hour after I was supposed to get done working, it was just peachy.”

“Did Hondo not show up again?” Rose asked sympathetically.

“Yup,” Rey popped the P and slumped down on the couch after retrieving her burrito from the microwave. 

“Well, you lucked out in one way. Poe was off on his newest so and so is a vampire theory.” 

“Yeah? Who is this time?”

“Some kid in one of his classes. Had an unusual name. Teedo?”

“I know Teedo. He’s in my architecture class. Professor Solo is constantly calling him out for not paying attention.”

“Don’t tell Poe,” Rose warned. “Otherwise he’ll be convinced they’re secretly conspiring.” 

Rey laughed and adopted a ridiculous attempt at Dr. Solo’s deep voice. “Who’s blood shall  
we drink tonight?” 

Rose cackled and brought the tail of her sweater across her mouth as if to hide her teeth and used a high squeaky voice. “How about that Dameron guy? The overly suspicious one?” 

They both were holding in their sides from laughter after that. Eventually Rose composed herself first. “You know I’m not kidding you really shouldn’t tell Poe he’s in Solo’s class with you or Poe will be convinced you’re their target.”

“Then I really shouldn’t tell him they both came into Maz’s tonight.” Rey forcefully made her voice stay in an even deadpan.

“Wait, Solo went into Maz’s cantina? I thought only students went to Maz’s. Don’t tell me either of them ordered a bloody mary?” Rose chuckled at her own joke.

“We get the occasional professor or local. It’s definitely one of the quieter bars in town. And I don’t know what they ordered. Neither of them were in my section. Teedo left around 8 which was about 5 minutes after Solo got there. Solo just read a book until close. Maz went and talked to him for a bit, Apparently, he’s an off and on regular which is why I haven’t seen him there before.”

“Is it normal for people to just hang out in the cantina that long?” Giving up for the night Rose put her homework in her backpack. 

“It was a little unusual for a weeknight but not unheard of.” Rey stood and dealt with her dish. “I promise I’ll tell you if anything vampire-y happens in class.”  
___ 

When Rey woke up the next morning a lingering sense of paranoia followed her. She couldn’t remember much from her dream just cold stone, running from something and darkness. The foreboding feeling stayed with her in the following days. Maybe that was the reason she caught herself being more paranoid than usual but she noticed Dr. Solo and especially Teedo looking at her more often during class. On top of that, she kept running into both of them outside of class, at the library, campus coffee shops, and they both made an appearance during every shift at the cantina. She would be walking and see Teedo out of the corner of her eye only for him to turn and leave. The third time this happened and every time afterward she noticed Dr. Solo walking away too. She wanted to write it off as Poe’s conspiracy theories getting to her but she couldn’t shake a nagging feeling to be on guard. That same feeling had gotten her out of trouble more than once and she wasn’t about to start ignoring it now.  
___  
October 3  
Intro to History of Architecture started abnormally. Usually Professor Solo had the presentation ready as soon as class started and launched into lecturing without any preamble but today the lights were on and he waited for people to file in and quit chattering before starting. This was the first thing that would be odd today.

“From the reading last night someone tell me their favorite building discussed in the chapter and why.” 

No one raised their hand.

“I know I don’t usually start class like this but I think the occasional mix up is good to keep you all on your toes.”

A few people including Rey raised their hands. 

“Bridger, Wren, and Niima. Go.”

Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren both talked about Notre Dame and Sabine mentioned  
Westminister. 

“Solid answers. There’s a reason that those are two of the most visited buildings in the world.”  
Dr. Solo made eye contact with Rey.”What about you Niima?”

She sat a little straighter under the scrutiny. “I liked Ely Cathedral.” 

Dr. Solo looked vaguely impressed. Maybe. It was hard to tell what his expressions meant.  
“Explain.”

“The lantern tower in Ely is unique and it’s fascinating from a structural engineering point of view. Almost like a dome but still gothic.”

There was an odd soft look in Dr. Solo’s eyes. Like he was reminiscing. He held eye contact just long enough for it to be uncomfortable before looking away. Something caught his eye and he scowled. Rey followed his gaze and saw Teedo squirming in his seat with a guilty look on his face. 

“We’re deviating slightly from the syllabus today.” 

Rey blinked in surprise. Straying from the syllabus seemed like blasphemy to Professor Solo who had always stuck strictly to it and who’s favorite response to questions was ‘refer to the syllabus.’

“We’re going to talk about vampires today and how they influenced architecture. Before we get to their contributions to architecture lets talk about the thirty years war and the events that lead to their extinction.” There was no powerpoint, just Dr. Solo leaning on the desk with his arms folded over his chest looking particularly brooding. “Who can summarize what happened?”

Rey raised her hand like always. 

“Someone besides Niima. She can’t possibly be the only one who paid attention in history class.” 

She didn’t know whether to be offended or not but just shrugged her shoulders and let it slide. 

Someone else in the middle of the room spoke up. “A vampire named Palpatine convinced his followers that humans were the lesser species and should be subjugated. Kind of like Voldemort in Harry Potter.” A few people gave pity chuckles. The speaker cleared their throat before continuing. “A rebel group lead by Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker managed to kill Palpatine and most of his followers. The war killed almost all of the vampires. Leia Organa’s son later killed the last one, a man named Snoke.” 

There was a faraway look in Professor Solo’s eyes. “Correct, mostly. That is the gist of what the public education system will teach you but like all subjects, it is much more nuanced. I wrote my thesis on the fall of vampires and their contribution to architecture has been the subject of my research since I started teaching.” He unfolded his arms and walked to the hardly used whiteboard. “If you want to learn more consider taking Dr. Christy’s course on vampirical history. But today I’ll go over what I think is important.”

He took a marker out of his pocket and started drawing out a diagram. “Until 1570 the vampires were ruled by a council of elders. Sheev Palpatine took control of this council in 1558 and slowly killed off the other elders and gained followers until he was able to declare himself emperor. His first act was to declare war on humans. Approximately three-fourths of all vampires followed him. The remaining quarter banded together with a group of vampire hunters and some abnormally brave/stupid humans. Thousands were turned only to die that same day. It was a bloody was that ended when Palpatine was killed by Luke Skywalker. The year following the fall of Palpatine’s empire is commonly called the great purge by historians. Less than 100 vampires remained after the purge and were lead by a man named Snoke. Most of those 100 were killed because of infighting. Then in 1620, Leia Organa’s son was turned by Snoke.”

He stepped back from the board and the timeline he had drawn, capping the marker. “There is very little evidence on what happened but based on that little evidence I believe that he was most likely raised to despise vampires and becoming one made him go mad. He started going by the name Kylo Ren. His birth name has since been lost.”

Professor Solo paused, still facing the whiteboard. Rey could just barely see his face from her corner seat. There was something in his eyes that seemed almost regretful. When he spoke again his voice was quieter, more thoughtful.

“He disappeared for 5 years during which his father died. Shortly after his father’s death, his body along with Snoke’s and a handful of other vampires were found in the crypt under Theed Palace. Historians believe he killed Snoke and the others and was either killed in the fight or killed himself after it was over.”

A student interrupted. “How did vampires die? Historically? Because there are a lot of differences in fiction…” 

“Your guess is as good as mine. There is evidence that supports a wooden stake to the heart while other evidence supports being burned. Many texts on vampire hunting were lost in the great London fire of 1666.” 

Something in Rey’s intuition said that that wasn’t an accident.

“Some fanatics are convinced that Kylo Ren survived.” His usual harsh tone was back. “To that I say that if he did survive and secretly save the vampires from extinction that would mean he’s somehow managed to prevent any vampire attacks in the last 400 years.” His closing statement was enunciated so precisely that it came off as a warning. 

“Anyone who can successfully prevent vampires from hunting their primary prey is not someone I would cross.” 

He was glaring at the top section. Exactly where Rey knew Teedo was sitting.

Class was dismissed and it wasn’t until she walked into her next class that Rey realized they hadn’t learned anything about architecture that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so proud of myself for actually updating when I said I would. Thank you for the kudos and lovely comments! They make my day :)


	3. Truth, Lies, and Reminiscing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey considers recent events and decides to do something about it. Poe has an unwelcome visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tentatively think this story will be 7 chapters long. I'm really proud of myself because for the first time I actually have an outline of where this is going.

After Dr. Solo’s ominous statement at the end of class Rey didn’t see Teedo at all in the following days. She still saw Solo around but less frequently. He still came to the cantina every night. Each time with a new book. 

Rey walked to work in a hurry trying to escape the icy wind whipping through the streets. She’d come from a study session with Poe, Finn, and Rose. She was proud of Poe. He hadn’t brought up vampires at all. He’d spent the afternoon in an uncharacteristically sullen mood. The look he shot at Rey as she was leaving sat uneasy with her. Like he was worried but didn’t want to say anything. She reminded herself to confront him about it tomorrow.

When Rey moved to Dagobah she fell in love with the tight twisting alleys that wove through the buildings. They were fascinating, always providing adventure in an otherwise boring walk to work or school. Once in a rush to work her backpack had caught on a loose brick pulling it out of place. Curious, she had stopped to investigate and found the broken shards of a once exquisite teacup jammed in the opening. Rey imagined that it was hidden by a child who wished to avoid getting in trouble for breaking the cup. 

When she was 10 years old she had dropped a boxy old desktop computer on her way to turn it in to Plutt and nearly all of the salvageable parts had been ruined. She had frantically buried the pieces out in the junkyard but Plutt still found out. He always found out. 

Arriving at the cantina shook Rey out of the past. The warm light spilling from Maz’s chased the shadows away and Rey walked in smiling.

Once again Teedo didn’t show and a small knot of tension evaporated. Professor Solo came at the usual time. Rey noticed in their interactions that the hairs on the back of her neck stood up whenever Teedo or Professor Solo were near but while Teedo’s presence set her on edge while Solo also set her on edge but more out of curiosity than a fight or flight response.

They reminded her of some of Plutt’s dogs. There had been a colony of stray dogs that lived in the junkyard. Growing up Rey learned which dogs were friendly and which were to be avoided at all costs. Teedo reminded her of a mutt that tried to bite her multiple times and only left her alone after she hit it which her staff. Professor Solo reminded her of the black german shepherd she’d named Sirius that came and went a lot. She’d seen him in multiple dogfights but he always walked away unscathed. On one of the worst nights of her childhood she’d been made to sleep outside in the junkyard and it was freezing. The big black dog had curled up around her, keeping her warm. She knew realistically that because Sirius was mean to the other dogs he was dangerous but he always let Rey scratch his ears. 

Maz yelling from the kitchen pulled her out of her thoughts and back to the present.

Dr. Solo’s favorite seat in the back corner was currently occupied by a couple engaged in PDA. He grudgingly took a seat at a booth in the main area facing the door. Rey breathed in deeply and steeled herself determined to not betray she’d been thinking about him. It was easier to keep her thoughts in check during class, but outside of class she couldn’t help but think about the odd reaction she had to him. He hadn’t done anything to warrant it but nonetheless, the uneasiness was there. She blamed Poe and his conspiracy theories.

She walked up to his table, notebook in hand. “Good evening Professor. Can I get you anything?”

He placed the book he’d just removed from his bag on the table. “ ‘Evening Miss Niima. How are you?”

“Oh! I’m supposed to ask you that.”

He waved it off “It’s fine. I’m sure you have a lot on your mind.” -Rey sucked in a breath. Crap he knows her brain running off to ridiculous conclusions.- “Aren’t you in structural engineering? That’s not an easy major.”

Rey wilted a bit remembering her stack of homework waiting at home. “Yeah, luckily it’s my senior year so I’ll be done soon.” Changing the subject before the usual ‘life after graduation’ dread set in she asked. “So how are you?”

He smiled lightly, just the smallest of upturned lips. He never smiled in class. Rey secretly thought that little bit of life made him look even more handsome. 

“Same as I always am. Currently working on writing the midterm for the intro class.”

“Any helpful hints?” Rey teased without thinking. She spluttered “Er, not being serious. Sorry about that.”

“You’re fine. I’m sure you’ll do fine on the midterm too. You actually do the readings.”  
While Rey was trying to decide how to respond he ran his hand through his hair. “Sorry, I’ve probably kept you too long. I’m sure you have other tables. Could I just get some hot chocolate?”

Momentarily flustered by how dang good his hair looked Rey was a half-second slow in writing down his order. “Er of course.” She straightened back in her element. “Do you want whipped cream?”

He nodded and thanked her, picking up his book. Rey saw the title embossed on the leather spine. History of Scottish Architecture Vol II.  
Laughing to herself as she got his hot chocolate she wondered if his entire life revolved around architecture. 

Time passed slowly despite the evening rush. By 11 pm there were only a handful of patrons left including Solo. Rey swung by with his refill. “Why hot chocolate?”

“Pardon?” he looked up from the book, a pair of reading glasses trying to slide off his nose. He shrugged, “I know it’s not the stereotypical academic drink of choice but I just prefer the sugariness. Plus I’d never sleep if I drank coffee this late.” His face was completely deadpan. “Why do you ask?”

It was her turn to shrug. “Boredom induced random curiosity. There aren’t that many people here and I already cleaned everything I can until close.”  
They both looked around noting the remaining patrons. Coming to a decision she slid into the booth on the opposite side of him. “There was actually something I wanted to talk to you about…”

Hearkening back to their earlier conversation he deadpanned “No, you can’t see the midterm early.” 

Rey just stared at him surprised at the joke.  
He misread her expression and looked sheepish rubbing the back of his neck. “Just kidding. You already have an A.” He cleared his throat. “What did you want to talk about?”

She got straight to the point. “Why did I keep seeing you and Teedo around everywhere until last Tuesday?” 

He instantly stilled. “Ah,” pause, “You noticed.”

“Of course I noticed!” Rey said with annoyance. “I’m not blind, plus neither of you were exactly subtle.”

He nodded slowly and then sighed roughly, running a hand down his face. “I should have said something but I didn’t have proof and I didn’t want to start an incident in case I was wrong. After class a few weeks ago I overheard him arguing with someone on the phone. What he said was… concerning. So I decided I would wait and watch and intervene if necessary. That’s when I noticed he was following you.”

Rey stiffened but said nothing.

“I promise I have just been keeping an eye out. I have no wish to invade your privacy. I thought my presence would discourage him but after that didn’t work I confronted him about it. Am I correct in thinking that you haven’t seen him outside of class since Tuesday?”

Rey nodded and slumped against the back of the booth seat. She was quiet for a long time. “You should have told me” she eventually snapped. “But,” she took a deep breath to calm down, “I appreciate you keeping an eye out. That’s been pretty rare in my life.”

The expected pitying look didn’t come. Instead, his eyes grew steely. “I don’t know your situation-” Rey made a noise of protest. “ and I don’t need to. From what I’ve observed I’d say that whoever failed to keep an eye out for you was an idiot.”

Although his words were blunt, Rey couldn’t help but find them slightly endearing. 

_____

Earlier that day

Dagobah University’s library was an enormous mishmash of buildings that had been built into each other over the centuries. If you weren’t careful in your exploring it was easy to start in one architectural time period only to be completely lost in another. Poe’s favorite study room was buried deep in the East wing where freshmen rarely came due to the twisting hallways and unremarkable decoration. He’d been here for several hours already, desperately cramming for his strength of materials midterm. Professor Holdo was trying to kill them all, he was sure of it. Finn, Rose, and Rey were coming to meet him here later in the afternoon. 

He pulled back from his laptop running a hand blearily over his eyes. He blinked several times, a dark blurry shape appeared in the corner of his eye. He lowered his hand slowly not quite registering what he’d seen. Eyes widening he did a double-take, his chair scraped loudly as he pushed back from the table. His heart was beating so loud he was sure Teedo could hear it.

Teedo didn’t as much as blink at the sudden movement. “Morning Dameron.”

Poe spluttered “How long have you been in here?!”

Teedo lazily waved a hand. “Calm down, I’ve only been here for a minute.” He pulled his chair to the table. “I’ll get straight to the point. I know you think Dr. Solo and I are vampires.”

Poe’s breath caught in his throat.

Teedo continued, “I’m here to tell you that you’re half right.” A smug expression came onto his face, “I come from a long line of hunters. Sometimes people mistake us for vampires so I don’t blame you for your confusion.

Poe was staring at the man in front of him, unsure what to think.

Teedo leaned forward conspiratorially. “Solo though,” he spat the name like poison, “Is a vampire. And he’s after your friend Rey.”

“No…” Poe whispered in shock. Honestly, he was surprised to learn he was actually right about his theory.

“I’m sure you want proof. If you go to Rey’s work tonight he’ll be there, but! Be careful. If I heard your theory then I’d bet he did too. Don’t let him see you.” Teedo stood up to leave. I’ll find you tomorrow and we can discuss how to save your friend.  
He walked out the door but poked his head back in as it was closing. “Oh! And good luck on your midterm.” 

A door shutting had never sounded more sarcastic and ominous.


	4. Last Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If it was your last day alive, what do you hope you would have done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so proud of myself. This chapter is massive by my usual standards. And I finished it early and I'm excited sooo I'm going to post it today instead of the usual Tuesday. TIL When I was making the mood board I came across a book about a student club at Cambridge in the 1930's that existed solely to climb on the architecture.
> 
> Sorry! I forgot to add earlier this chapter deals with a vampire attack and it may being triggering for assault. If you'd rather skip it, it's the second section.

_ _

_ Friday, October 13 _

“Morning Peanut!” Finn greeted loudly as he sat down across from Rey. “Happy Friday the 13th! You still down to watch Over the Garden Wall tonight?”

“Yep. I convinced Kaydel to trade shifts with me so I get off at 8 tonight instead of midnight.” Her eyes darted up when she heard the tell-tale sound of a bag of chips coming from his backpack. She made eye contact with Finn and then pointedly looked at his bag. 

Finn laughed. “You’re ridiculous you know that right? If you had a superpower it’d be the ability to find any and all hidden food.” He pulled out the open bag of Doritos and offered it to Rey.

Happily, she took a few. “What do you mean ‘if’?” she teased. “I clearly already have that power.”

Finn raised a finger as if to something but paused and then, “Touche” 

Rose and Poe joined them making the library study room feel slightly crowded. 

Catching sight of Poe, Rey gently accused, “Next time you decide to spring an impromptu cartoon night on us a little more notice would be appreciated. I was lucky Kaydel could switch me today.” 

Poe held his hands up in surrender. “I know, I know, I'm sorry!” I didn’t have the idea until late last night. I’m glad you were able to switch.” Unusual sincerity dripped from his words. On closer inspection, Poe looked exhausted. Whatever had been troubling him yesterday was clearly still on his mind. The others knew though that Poe would tell them about it when he was ready and not before so they let it slide.

Rose sat next to Finn and kissed his cheek. “Thanks for the chips,” she chirped.

Finn pretended to roll his eyes. “You two are both incorrigible food thieves.”

“Yeah but you enable us so really whose fault is it?” Smiling widely, Rey took another chip.

\------

Rey sprinted through the dinner rush. She barely had time to think, with order after order coming in. Before she knew it, 7:30 had come and gone and her shift was almost over. 

Still no Ben though.

She smiled to herself as she wiped tables. Last night's conversation running through her head.

_ As was his habit he stayed until close. They chatted off and on in between the other patrons leaving and her cleaning up after them. When closing time came she walked with him to the door. _

_ “Thanks for the company tonight Dr. Solo.” _

_ He paused at the door leaning lightly on it causing it to swing open an inch or two. “You’re welcome. It was nice to talk to someone.” His whiskey-colored eyes seemed lighter in the entrance light. “And…” He seemed to be deliberating, “You can call me Ben outside of class.” _

_ “Oh!” Rey smiled, pleasantly surprised. After their conversations tonight she decided that she could easily be friends with him. “You can call me Rey then.” _

_ Ben smiled lightly. “Well, goodnight then Rey.” _

_ “Goodnight Ben.” _

Back in the present Rey half expected Bern to walk through the door at any moment despite the fact that he rarely came in before 8 o’clock.

Her shift ended without incident and without Ben. She shrugged it off and went to the kitchen to clock out. People had been generous that night and she was looking forward to the slightly padded grocery budget next week. 

Maz hollered across the kitchen while Rey clocked out. “Be careful getting home Rey! I’m sure there’s more than one idiot looking for trouble because it's the 13th.”

“I will!” Rey shouted back before heading into the night.

The streets of Dagobah’s old town were dimly lit by flickering incandescents meant to mimic gas lamps. The ancient beanie on Rey’s head had seen better days and was doing a poor job of protecting her ears from the bitter wind. She ducked into an alley to avoid walking straight into the wind. Without the howling in her ears, the alley was deathly quiet.

The buildings on either side caught her interest. Since moving to Dagobah she’d wanted to know more about the buildings here. The oldest structures in Jakku had been a handful of run-down remains of a humanitarian effort to help the impoverished region back in the 50’s. The buildings here though were magnificent. The thought of all the things these walls had seen filled her with wonder. 

The silence was interrupted abruptly, catching her in her musings. 

“Evening Rey.” 

She whirled around to face the source of the voice. Her breath caught in her throat. 

Teedo.

She swallowed and clutched the keys in her jacket pocket. Fight or flight response coursing through her veins. “What are you doing here Teedo?” Her voice was hard and threatening.

“Ah straight to the point.” He stepped forward into a patch of moonlight.

Rey’s eyes narrowed. The way he was dressed was a stark contrast to his usual appearance. The usual T-shirt and ripped jeans were gone, replaced by slacks, a dress shirt and long overcoat, all black.

“I’ve always liked that about you,” he purred. He kept coming closer. His body language was languid like a predator approaching trapped prey. 

Rey’s eyes darted around the alley looking for anything that could be used as a weapon. She spied a broom leaning in a doorway by some trash bins a few steps behind her. She backed up slowly matching his pace forwards.

“I don’t know how you can like anything about me considering we’ve barely ever spoken,” she shot back. 

He chuckled cruelly. “Oh, I don’t need to talk to you to know that you’re what I’ve been hunting for.”

Once she was close enough Rey’s hand shot out to grasp the broom handle. The weight distribution was different but it was close enough of her old staff that it would work. 

“Ooh!” he sneered. “Planning on fighting back are we?” he mocked.

“Go. Away. Teedo,” she ground out. 

“And have all of that time pretending to be a hormonal college student go to waste?” He put a hand to his heart in mock offense. “ No,” he said softly, “I don’t think so.” He stepped forward.

Rey jolted into action jabbing the hard end of the broom towards his gut, prepped to sweep a blow across the back of his knees next.

Faster than humanly possible his hands shot out of his pockets and grabbed the broom before it made contact.

Rey tried to pull the broom out of his hands but it wouldn’t budge. 

“Tsk tsk. That was rather uncalled for don’t you think?” 

The sound of splintering wood rent the air as the broom handle was crushed in Teedo’s hands. His eyes, suddenly much closer to Rey’s, were vivid red and roved lazily over her body lingering on her throat and her chest exactly where her heart sat frantically pumping adrenaline through her veins. 

She looked from his hands to his face in alarm. The broom dropped to the ground with a clatter. Her instincts which usually bade her fight were now screaming to run. She turned and ran only to collide immediately into him. One minute he was behind her the next in front. 

Pain shot down her arms as he grabbed her wrists and forced them above her head, crowding her in and pinning her arms to the brick wall behind her. Pinned against the wall her heart hammering loudly in her chest, she was for the first time, truly afraid but not cowed. 

“Go to hell,” she spat and kneed him in the groin. 

He didn’t even blink, only smirking in response. He shifted so only one hand pinned her wrists together and to the wall. The other had lazily trailed down to caress her cheek. 

She turned away, unintentionally exposing her neck. Blood pulsed visibly through her carotid artery. 

He licked his lips hungrily. 

“Haven’t you figured it out by now?” He breathed in deeply, his lips hovering a centimeter above her throat. “That’s where I came from.” 

With the final word, he sank his teeth into her neck.

____

Professor Solo’s office in the history department was filled with rich tones of dark wood. His shelves were lined with well kept leather-bound books he had amassed over the centuries. The occasional knick-knack sat on the shelves, an azulejo from Lisbon before the earthquake, various coins from defunct empires, a bullet from the revolution that had lodged in his shoulder, etc. The office was his sanctuary at school, removed from the frantic activity of campus, it was the space in which he allowed himself to remember the past. 

Ben was still in his office grading essays at 8 PM that night. He had hoped to be done earlier so he could go to Takodano but the meeting with Holdo, Hux and Phasma had taken longer than expected.

_ “Teedo appears to have taken your warning to heart. He hasn’t gone near Niima since then,” Hux reported, the boredom evident in his voice. _

_ Kylo nodded in acknowledgment. _

_ “How did your chat with Niima go?” Holdo asked. The purple-haired University Vice President was a recent addition to these meetings despite being the eldest amongst them. As a general rule, she did not get involved in vampire politics, preferring to deal more with the human realm. _

_ Kylo leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled together deep in thought. “She noticed both Teedo and I following her.” _

_ That caught Hux’s interest. “The human noticed you?” he asked incredulously, “You must be slipping Ren.” _

_ Kylo rolled his eyes. “Or it’s confirmation that she has the gene. I told her I had overheard Teedo saying he had plans for her, well something like that. She caught me off guard.” _

_ The other three looked at each other impressed. Phasma spoke for them, “She must really be something to catch the Great Kylo Ren off guard.” Sarcasm dripped in subtly at his chosen name. _

_ “If we could get back on topic…” he growled. “If any humans get involved we need to have precautions in place, he looked to Holdo. _

_ “I have reports ready that show the university is investigating him if it comes to that.” _

Someone knocking on his door interrupted his thoughts. He stood as it opened revealing Holdo accompanied by Poe Dameron. _ This should be good. _Ben thought to himself. 

“Good evening Ben.” Holdo greeted tersely.

“Amilyn,” he acknowledged. He let his gaze drift to and linger on Dameron who gulped under the inspection. “What can I do for you?”

“May we sit down?” Ben nodded and gestured to the chairs on the opposite side of his desk before resuming his own seat. “Mr. Dameron came to my office with some concerns and I thought it best if you were present.” Her words carried weight meant for Ben though she shot a pointed look at Dameron as she said them. He at least had the dignity to look sheepish.

“Alright...”

“You see, Mr. Dameron’s concerns are deeply troubling to the university. He believes that you have been stalking a student with mal-intent.”

“I see,” Ben said coldly, leveling a glare at Poe. “Did he also mention he has been spreading rumors about myself and others being vampires?” Poe shrank into the chair, his body language answering for him. 

“He did and I assured him that considering I have known you since the day you were born you are most definitely not a vampire,” Holdo snapped.

Ben sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Mr. Dameron, you are friends with Miss Rey Niima am I correct?”

Poe nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“What lead you to believe that I am stalking her?” Did she say anything that suggested it?”

“Well no… but I saw you at her work last night and-”

“Are professors not allowed at local bars now?” Ben asked sarcastically.

Poe grew agitated. “Teedo said-”

Ben and Holdo snapped forward at the name causing Poe to flinch back in alarm.

“What exactly did he say?” Ben ground out.

“He, he said you were a vampire,” he stammered, “and that you were after Rey. He knew you’d be at the cantina last night. He said he had confronted you about it and that you threatened him. I volunteered to go to Holdo and he said he’d make sure Rey gets home safe…”

If Ben’s heart still worked it would have stopped as cold dread settled in his chest. Ben growled in frustration as he stood suddenly grabbing his coat and throwing it on. “You colossal idiot! Where is she now?” he demanded.

Poe looked suspicious. “Why-”

“Just tell him!” Holdo snapped. 

“She just got off work! Her shift ended at 8.” Poe said, startled by the abruptness.

Ben was out the door without another word his hands shaking with rage while he called Phasma as he sprinted out of the building.

Back in the office, the door swung sadly on its hinges as eerie silence filling the space after the abrupt departure. The usually unflappable Holdo was icily glaring at Poe. “At Miss Niima’s request, the university launched an investigation on Mr. Teedo Scaven. She reported it this morning that he has been following her for some time. Dr. Solo has been aware of this and has repeatedly gone to Miss Niima’s place of employment to ensure Teedo stayed away. From what Dr. Solo has told me she usually works until close.”

Poes eyes were widening with sudden realization that he had been a pawn.

“You wouldn’t happen to know why she isn’t safe at work right now would you?”

Poe put his head in his hands as tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Solo was right. He was a colossal idiot.

____

The night air was chill as the rooftops flew by beneath his feet. Hux and Phasma weren’t far behind him, he was closer initially so he would get to Rey first. Hopefully in time. He stopped abruptly on the roof of the cantina and reached out with his senses. Teedo wouldn’t have been patient enough to let her get far. 

His nose twitched, catching the scent. Blood, less than half a mile away.

He turned on the spot and took off soaring from one rooftop to another. The sensation was so familiar by now that the joy of flying through the air was long since lost even if the situation had been less urgent. The remaining distance took him mere moments to cross. The scent of blood growing stronger.

_ Don’t be dead. Don’t be dead. Don’t be dead… _ was chanted on loop in his thoughts. _ There! _ Movement in the alley below. She was pinned to the wall by Teedo’s larger frame, her head lolled to one side and her arms hanging limply. Blood covered Teedo’s mouth and hands, small rivulets of Rey’s lifeblood leaked out from under his mouth and down her neck. Not only had he broken the first law of their kind but he was sloppy too.

Kylo hit the ground running. Caught in the feeding frenzy Teedo didn’t sense him coming until he was ripped off of her with a yell. Rey slumped to the ground in a heap, it was impossible to tell if she was still alive. Kylo slammed Teedo into the wall holding him up by his neck, feet dangling a foot off the ground. Brick and mortar cracked and fell away on impact.

“Why do you care so much about this girl?” Teedo choked out, unsuccessfully struggling against Kylo’s iron grip.

Kylo ignored the question. “You knew the rules. No killing humans.” His voice was cold and emotionless.

“What’re you gonna do,” Teedo wheezed, “Report me to the king?” Hairline fractures in the skin of his neck started to crack and splinter under Kylo’s grasp.

Two soft thuds heralded his generals’ arrival. Hux approached Rey picking up a splintered piece of broom handle a look of disgust on his face. 

Teedo’s efforts to escape escalated when he saw what Hux was doing. “Those are the king’s generals! You reported me you-” he was cut off as Kylo threw him bodily to Phasma’s feet. 

Hux straightened up carefully holding the piece of wood now coated in Rey’s blood. He kicked Teedo as he handed the stake to Phasma. She grasped it gingerly like someone would a venomous snake as Hux dragged Teedo to his feet. Once he was on his feet Phasma’s eyes sparked with fire. “Why would he need to report you to himself?”

Teedo’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Both at the statement and at the blood-soaked stake in her hand. “Please! Your majesty have mercy!” He implored, looking to the man he now knew to be 

Kylo Ren, King of Vampires.

Except he wasn't even paying attention. He was cradling the girls head in his lap. 

Hux stepped in front of him, blocking his line of sight and sneered “There is no mercy for those who break the law and endanger our secrecy.”

Teedo looked frantically back at Phasma. Without hesitation, she readied the stake and declared, “With the blood of the innocent we condemn you to death,” and plunged it into his heart.

__

Kylo rushed to her side as soon as he handed the scum off to his generals to deal with. “Rey!” He shook her gently as he pulled her head onto his knees. He could feel her pulse, her heart feebly beating what remained of her blood. There was something about her that made him desperate. If she were anyone else he would just let her pass on. But she had a rare spark that he was loathed to see extinguished. Something about her drew him in and he couldn’t stand by without giving her a chance at continued existence. But she had to agree. He wouldn’t do it without her permission. Not like what had been done to him and countless others. 

“Rey you’re dying.” He moved her hair off her face. 

She tried to open her eyes but didn’t have the strength. 

“I can save you but it will hurt. Do you want to live?” His voice was urgent bordering on frantic.

Her pulse slowed, she was fading. 

“Answer me! Do you want to live?!”

She tried to breathe in, the blood gurgled from the puncture wounds. “yes..” It was so quiet to a human it would have been inaudible. 

He brought his wrist to his teeth and tore open his vein. He held the slowly bleeding would to her open mouth. “Then drink,” he commanded.

With a final effort, she swallowed the mouthful of his blood. Too far gone to process the taste or recognize it for what it was. To most humans, vampire blood was poison that condemned them to a slow and painful death. But, for those with the gene, those who could sense the world of vampires while human, there was a way to join the undead. If the human drank vampire blood and died while it was in their system then they would become a vampire. 

Her heartbeat continued to slow, eventually staggering to a final stop. The human life of Rey Niima was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! I love reading the comments!
> 
> Azulejos (one of the things in Ben's office) are the blue and white tiles that Portugal is famous for. The Lisbon earthquake and its repercussions are fascinating and I highly recommend looking into it if you like history.


	5. First Day... Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey wakes up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's late! School happened and it's gonna happen again this week so expect an update in two weeks. We have some time skips ahead of us. In the perfect world, I'll finish this before TROS because I know the movie is going to blow me away and I'll have a million new fanfic ideas after I see it.
> 
> [Chapter Moodboard](url)

Everything felt like it was floating yet her limbs felt heavy. She could vaguely feel the downy surface she was laying on. It was incredibly soft, better than any bed she’d slept in before. Her head swam with vertigo as she struggled to remember how she got here. And more importantly where here was.

She had been walking home, she was going to meet… someone.

No, several someones. Her friends. She was going to meet her friends and watch cartoons. 

Was she home then? No… Nothing in her apartment was this soft. Where-

The alley.

Vertigo was replaced by pain, her head was pounding, her subconscious trying to protect her from traumatic memories. She pushed through chasing the memory. 

It was dark, only the moon illuminating the narrow alley. Teedo had appeared suddenly. She remembered grabbing the broom, watching it shatter. The fog was thicker around the next memory and try as she might she couldn’t quite breakthrough. 

A voice filtered in from the outside world, it distracted her, causing her subconscious to retreat, the memory faded out of reach. Frustrated she focused on the voice instead. 

“-- be waking up soon. The transformation should be completed by now.”

An authoritative mechanically altered voice spoke next. “Alert me as soon as she wakes up.”

“Yes, sir.”

Transformation? What? The words were the final straw needed to breach the surface causing her to truly wake up. Memories came flooding back. The alley, Teedo’s inhuman strength, him pinning her to the wall, his… bite.

Rey bolted upright, her hand flying to her neck. She couldn’t feel any sort of scab which made no sense. The pain had been excruciating surely there should be some sort of wound. She could taste bile but when she tried to swallow she discovered her mouth and throat were bone dry. 

This thirst may drive her insane. She needed water, anything to quench the fire in her throat.

Her eyes darted up looking for any potential liquid only to find two other people in the room with her. Right. The voices. Of course, they’re still here, how could I forget?

The closest was an amazingly tall blonde woman dressed in sleet black slacks with a red collared blouse and a silver leather jacket with militaresque embellishments. Partially hidden behind a cluster of armchairs a few steps from the door was a tall, broad-shouldered man dressed entirely in black, including a silver-rimmed black helmet of all things. The helmet terrified her, no one sane went around wearing a voice modulating helmet that completely obscured their identity. 

Rey scrambled out of bed, glaring at them suspiciously. Taking in the potential exits, Rey noted that the room was historically detailed with heavy brocade gold curtains and more furniture than could realistically be necessary. The bed she had just left was a king-size canopy bed draped with black brocade embroidered with golden flowers. The portraits on the wall seemed to stare her down and the molding on the ceiling was exquisite. The history nerd in her would later regret not having been able to take it all in adequately. 

Her bare feet hit the plush carpet, the texture difference making her realize with a jolt that her clothes were different. Instead of her work clothes, she was dressed in plaid pajama bottoms and a loose black T-shirt. 

“Where am I?” She demanded, “Who are you? What happened to my clothes?” She drew in a shaky breath, “What. Happened?”

The man took a step forward towards her. 

Rey flinched backward, “Don’t.”

He slowly held his hands up and retreated trying to placate her. 

She let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d held. “Please,” she implored “just answer my questions.”  
The woman spoke first. “You’re safe now. Teedo can’t hurt you again.” Her tone was one of disused compassion. “Your clothes had too much blood on them to be salvaged. Your shoes and backpack have been cleaned as best we could and are in the wardrobe along with some  
replacement clothes.”

Rey nodded slowly, surprised at the thoughtfulness though still on guard. 

“You’ve been unconscious for a while” The man spoke again, this time clearly attempting to speak softly through the modulation didn’t help. “You must be thirsty.” 

He nodded to the woman who crossed the room to a cabinet and withdrew a hydro flask from a group of several. She approached Rey with some caution as though she was likely to spook and handed her the bottle. 

Now that her attention was brought back to the burning in her throat it was intolerable. Her usual suspicion was waylaid by desperate need to quench her thirst. She took the proffered bottle and guzzled the liquid within greedily, draining it completely. While she drank she missed the meaningful look that passed between the others.

“Thank you,” Manners forgotten, Rey wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Now that the burning had stopped she looked down at the flask suspiciously. 

What on earth?

Red drops clung to the opening. Hesitantly her eyes traveled to the back of her hand and the crimson smear that now marked it. The flask fell to the floor with a clatter.

Blood.

That was blood.

She just drank blood.

And it tasted good.

Panic slammed into all of her senses. Without thinking she ran up to the man pressing an accusing finger into his chest. 

But, before she could speak she was pulled violently away by the woman. Her arms now pinned at her side.

“Don’t” The woman hissed in her ear. 

The man waved a hand assuringly. “If you promise not to charge at anyone I’m sure Phasma will let you go. I know you’re confused, just let us explain.”

Rey breathed in deeply through her nose and reluctantly stopped struggling. “Fine. I promise. Now explain. Who are you? What happened to me? Where am I?”

The woman, who Rey assumed was Phasma, let her go but kept a watchful eye. “This is his Majesty, Kylo Ren, King of Vampires.” 

Rey stopped breathing. 

She gaped at the two of them, eyes flicking back and forth between them. “No…” Rey whispered. Her footfalls silent on the carpet as she backed away. “No, vampires are extinct. Kylo Ren died in 1620. They found his body along with the rest of them.”

“Close, it was 1625. Your history teachers must be proud.” He quipped. 

Rey scowled and opened her mouth to snark back, but he beat her to it. 

“You wanted answers.” He fiddled with the cuff of his sleeve. “Teedo was one of us. He attacked and nearly killed you,” He said darkly. “Attacking humans is against our laws so we intervened. By the time we got there you were past the point of saving by human means.” 

Rey’s hands were shaking as she absorbed his words.

“We don’t turn people with their consent,” he emphasized, “you were dying but barely conscious, I asked if you wanted to live and you said yes. So here you are.” 

She refused to accept it, she couldn’t accept it, she couldn’t be… she’s not… The pieces came together in her mind. The blood coating her throat, Teedo attacking her, drinking her blood, she could faintly remember being gently held. That must have been him asking her for consent. She remembered drinking... something.

“I drank something you gave me.” 

He nodded “My blood.”

“Of course!” she snapped sarcastically “Obviously, that makes total sense.”

“When a human drinks a vampires blood-”

She cut him off, “No, no, no, no. This is crazy. Vampires. Are. Extinct. I have to be dreaming. This is all a terrible dream I’m having because Poe won’t shut up about vampires.” Her voice grew stronger until she was shouting at the end. She sunk to the floor and cried. 

“You’ll need to stay here during the adjustment period. We don’t let younglings go around unsupervised otherwise things usually ends in a killing spree.” There was sympathy in his voice when he said, “It’s for your own good.”

Before he could leave Rey looked up, “Wait.” 

He paused in the doorway looking back at her. 

“What happened to Teedo?” Her eyes blazed with anger.

“Like I said, attacking humans is against our laws.” He turned away. “ The punishment is death.”

The pronouncement hung heavy in the air even after they left the room, leaving Rey with nothing but her thoughts for company. 

___

Ben leaned against the door of his room as he ripped the helmet off his head. You’d think, that after nearly 400 years of watching heartbroken people realize they’d become monsters, that it would get easier. It never did. He knew that pain too well and no matter how long he lived he feared that that pain would never fade.  
Watching Rey had been especially painful since he knew her as a human he’d seen her spark and tenacity and to watch her sobbing on the floor… It was too much. He needed to clear his own head, give her space and time to calm down enough to be able to listen.

The helmet was tossed unceremoniously onto the king bed with a soft thump. He wore it because it gave him anonymity and allowed him to still have a semblance of a normal life. But, that didn’t mean he didn’t despise the blasted thing. As Ben Solo, he could interact freely with humans and vampires. He could keep a discreet watchful eye on the others without compromising his position as King. 

In the last few decades, it had become increasingly harder to create and discard new identities. This was the first time he’d dared use his birth name in a long time, the last time had been when he’d joined the British military during the second world war.

He was currently posing as 31 years which, from experience, meant that with any luck he should have at least 10 years left before he had to relinquish Ben Solo again.

Ben wandered aimlessly throughout the castle for at least an hour. He tried to take his mind off of Rey and force himself to give her space by focusing on oft-overlooked details such as doorknobs, rug motifs, knots in the woodwork, the texture of the walls, etc. He admitted defeat the third time he found himself outside the door and changed tactics. 

The library had never failed to keep him occupied when needed. The collection was his pride and joy. The room spanned the entire East wing, three stories tall and filled to the brim with books, many of which were the only copy left in the world. Ben had only been settled a short time when the silence was interrupted by his assistant Mitaka coming in.

Bowing slightly, he approached the king with a nervous tremor in his voice. “Sir, the girl…” he trailed off as though afraid to finish.

Kylo closed his book, “What about her Mitaka?”

“Well you see, she, uh,” he stalled, “the thing is…”

“Out with it,” Ben snapped, quickly losing patience.

“Sheclimbedoutthewindowandranaway,” spilled out too quickly to be comprehended.

“...What?”

“She climbed out the window! Three stories down and she didn’t jump or anything she literally climbed down the face of the building! Someone saw her get on a bus headed for Dagobah by the time we realized she wasn’t in her room.”

“She’s gone?!” Kylo bolted out of the chair.

Mitaka squeaked an affirmative, trailing after Kylo as they made their way to the front entrance.

“She climbed out the window? Did she use her new strength?”

“It didn’t appear so sire. General Phasma was quite impressed.”

“Did you put the book in her backpack?”

“Yes sir, all the usual precautions have been taken. Jarrus and Syndulla have been alerted and are tailing her from a distance to intervene if necessary. She isn’t the first runner, she won’t be the last.”

“No,” Kylo rolled his eyes at the unnecessary statement, “she won’t. But most of them don’t make it off of Starkiller’s grounds.”

He pulled on his coat. More to himself than to Mitaka he muttered, “It’s like she’s used to running…” 

He nailed Mitaka to the spot with a glare and a command. “Call Baze and CHirrut. Appraise them with the situation and tell them to hold off on closing her case with the police department. She’s probably ruined our chances of faking her death now.”

“And you’re going to allow that?”

Kylo didn’t say anything, just nodded and left leaving a dumbstruck Mitaka standing on the doorstep. Newborns didn’t go back to their old lives. The risk that they would accidentally or purposefully reveal that vampires still existed was too great. Whoever this girl was she must be something else. In all his years of serving the king, he had never seen him take such a personal interest in a new vampire.  
___

Rey sighed with relief when her key slid easily into the lock. With the way this day had gone, she’d half expected to come home and find the locks had been changed in her absence. Climbing down the building had been harder than it should have. She was out of practice after the years away from Plutt. 

Luckily she’d found her phone, fully charged, tucked into one of her shoes. She’d changed out of pajamas and climbed out the window first chance she got. It took an eternity to find cell signal, the castle-like manor had an impressive amount of land attached. Once she had signal she found the nearest bus stop and went home to her tiny apartment in Dagobah.

The door opened and Rey looked up in time to see a frying pan coming straight for her head.  
Faster than should have been possible she ducked. The pan flew over where her head had just been

“Rose! Stop! It’s me! It’s Rey!”

“Rey?!” Rose let out a strangled sob and dropped the pan and tackled Rey, hugging her tightly. 

“You’re alive!” She pulled back still holding onto Rey’s arms. “OH, Rey! We didn’t know what happened to you! You were just gone! Officer Malbus made it sound like you were probably dead! They found so much blood near the cantina, and Teedo has gone missing too, everyone thinks he kidnapped or killed you.” This all came out in a stream of words, finally Rose gasped for air. 

“Rey You’ve been gone for 5 days! Where were you? What happened?”

Rey’s eyes widened and her throat closed off. “Five days?!” she choked. “It can’t have been five days! I had a test on Tuesday!” 

“Rey!” Rose chided, “Priorities!”

But Rey wasn’t listening, she was crouched on the ground rummaging through her backpack looking for her planner. Well, she would have rummaged if not for the blood-red, leatherbound book sitting demurely on top of the pile in her backpack, looking entirely too innocent for a book titled Welcome to the Undead.


	6. Second First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey finally maybe gets some answers. Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So I'm late... sorry finals were a thing. I'm going to see TROS tonight and I had to get this out before I see it.  
I don't think the movie will change anything for this story but we'll see. 
> 
> No new moodboard because I'm lazy and rushed for time.
> 
> I did make one change. In the last chapter, Rose said that mentioned Officer Imwê. I've changed this to be Baze instead of Chirrut for plot reasons.

“Rey?” Rose looked at the book over her shoulder. Rey was still as stone, not even breathing. “What are you looking at?” She crouched down next to Rey, invading her personal space.   
Rey reached for the book with shaking hands. In the white space underneath the title on the title page was a small inscription written in a familiar looping cursive. Rey, don’t be afraid.

She gasped. A lungful of air raced down her throat, bringing with it the scent of blood.

Rose’s blood.

Without her permission, Rey’s eyes zeroed in on the pulsing veins in her friend’s neck.

It was right there... So close…

Insatiable need pounded through her body. She needed it. It was right there, all she had to do was lean forward a few inches and…

A sharp pain jolted her awake. In the fervor, she had bit her own tongue. 

She jolted backward from Rose in a panic. Hastily she snatched the book from where it lay dropped on the floor and retreated into her room. With the door locked she sunk to the ground, bracing her back against the door.

“What the- Rey!?” Rose pounded on the door. “Rey, you’re really starting the freak me out! What happened? Where have you been? Why are your eyes red?”

Rey didn’t respond, honestly, she didn’t even process the last questions because she was too engrossed in the first page of the book. 

So you ran away before we could teach you how to survive. You’re not the first, you won’t be the last. This book contains everything you need to know about being a vampire. First things first. You need blood. A lot of it. Your body is changing at a molecular level and requires a lot of energy to do this. In order to safely control your bloodlust, you’ll need at least a liter of blood every 6 hours for the duration of your transformation which will last between 7 to 21 days. This is the absolute bare minimum during this time you should avoid humans at all costs. But, since you ran away you probably are currently surrounded by humans. Don’t breathe in their presence. If you can’t smell their blood it will be easier to stay in control. 

Second, there will be at least one vampire assigned to watch over you and help you navigate this new life and make sure you obey the laws. Chirrut Imwe has been assigned to you.  
Above the name, Chirrut Imwe was a hasty handwritten addition & Ben Solo.

Rey stared at the words ‘Ben Solo’. Poe was right. He was right about Teedo and now it turns out he was right about Professor Solo too. She shook her head, determined to continue and process that later. 

We have 3 laws

Do not drink from a human whether you kill them or not.

Do not reveal our race.

Do not change someone without their permission.

We have survived in the shadows for centuries by enforcing these laws. Whatever you do, DO NOT KILL A HUMAN. 

We will know and you will be executed.

Rey swallowed, a cold pit settled in her stomach. That’s what had happened to Teedo. He’d been executed for drinking her blood.

She read frantically for a few minutes. The book had a list of butchers who she could buy blood from no questions asked. She took a picture of the page for future reference. She had just gotten to the section on myth vs fact when someone knocked on the front door.

The hair on her arms stood straight up, whoever was at the door was not human. Lurching up from her spot against the door she ran out into the hall.

“No don’t!” Too late. 

Rose gave her a quizzical look then turned to face the person standing in the door. It was a middle-aged Asian gentleman in a police uniform his hat pulled low, partially obscuring his eyes.   
“Oh! Officer, that was fast.”

“Yes, someone spotted your roommate earlier and called it in.”

Rey stepped up to the door, angling herself so she was between Rose and the definitely not human man on the doorstep. She raised an eyebrow expectantly trying to communicate without breathing.

“Oh excuse my manners, My name is Chirrut Imwe.” He tipped his hat up revealing sightless eyes that nevertheless seemed to speak silent volumes. “My partner Baze Malbus is the lead detective on your case. He was following a lead near Nar Shaddah so he asked me to come in his place.” This seemed to be more for Rose’s benefit than Rey’s.

Rey relaxed ever so slightly. This was the guide the book mentioned. “So now what?” She said in a clipped voice making sure not to breathe in. Maybe it was her imagination but she thought she might be able to hear Rose’s heartbeat from here. 

“I’ll need you to come down to the police station with me to answer some questions. Hopefully, we will both get the answers we are looking for.” He added as an afterthought, “This may take a while so I recommend that you bring your backpack with you.”

Rey nodded and offered Rose an attempt at a reassuring smile before retrieving her backpack and following him back down the stairs. 

Parked on the street in front of her building was a sleek black car. Too nice of a model to have ever ended up in Plutt’s junkyard so she didn’t recognize it immediately. Chirrut opened the door for her then got into the front passenger seat. She couldn’t tell who was driving until she got in.

“Professor Solo?”

“Miss Niima.” He greeted. Without turning around he handed her another hydro flask. 

This time she was well aware of the contents.

She took it, muttering a quiet ‘thank you’ out of habit. Resigned she twisted off the seal and with shaking hands raised the bottle to her lips. The scent filled her nose and throat causing any hesitancy to flee in the face of animalistic need. She drank steadily, trying to be more careful than the first time. 

She lowered the bottle and wiped her mouth to check if she had gotten blood everywhere again. 

It was thankfully clean. Small victories. 

It was odd, meeting a person again in a new light. She thought she had a good read on him before. From class, she knew that he was surly, but appreciated sarcasm. He graded harshly but always gave sufficient constructive criticism. From their conversations at work, she knew him to be a bit awkward at times but that may have just been the situation. He seemed more relaxed at the dinner, though less sure of himself. In both situations, she got the impression that he cared deeply about many things. She appreciated how he had looked out for her. Here though, he felt complete, like she was finally seeing an unfiltered version of him. From what she could see he looked good. But then again he had always looked good in her eyes.

He caught her staring in the mirror and she looked down quickly. “So… how much of the reading did you do?” He attempted to joke, using the same tone and phrasing as he did in class.

“The first few pages. I only found it about 5 minutes before he got there.” She gestured to Chirrut. “I know the two of you are assigned to me I guess. What does that even mean?”

“It means we show you the ropes and sort out the mess of transitioning from human life.” Chirrut’s voice grew vaguely annoyed “By the way, by going home you made my job a lot harder. It would have been so much easier to have you declared dead and forge you a new identity somewhere else.”

Rey snapped, “I refuse to give up my life here just because it’d be more convenient for you. I had to fight for this life once and I will do it again.”

“You’re already well on your way to being one of the more difficult newborns since the revolution,” Ben said blandly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You climbed out a five-story window and ran off into the human world after you had only had about a liter of blood.”

“It was only four stories…” she grumbled

“Oh excuse me, four, stories.” She could practically hear the eye roll. 

“So what now then?”

“Now we figure out where you’re going to live until we’re sure you won’t accidentally almost murder your roommates.”

“How did you-”

“We didn’t but thanks for confirming.”

Rey slouched in her seat. “How come you don’t have a proper police car?” She grumbled, trying to change the subject.

“Oh, I’m not actually a police officer.” 

“What?!”

“My friend Baze is on the force and he is on your case, but your roommate Rose hasn’t met him. This way It’ll seem like you’ve gone missing again since only your roommate saw you.” 

“In the meantime, you're going to stay with Ben.”

“Wait, why?” Rey was flustered. Stay with Professor Solo? That seemed wrong on so many levels.

“Because I have the space, I have a ready supply of food and there will be less humans around than there would be at Chirrut’s place.”

“But you’re my professor!”

“Yeah about that…”

Rey glared at the back of his head. “What about that?”

“Crowded classrooms full of heavily caffeinated humans is the last place you should be for at least 2 months. You might be able to go back to school for the spring semester.”

Rey was shaking her head “No! I can’t drop out in the middle of the semester! My scholarship is only for 8 semesters I can’t waste any time. My classes are all semester specific I wouldn’t be able to finish these classes until next fall.”

“When you decide to go back to school we’ll take care of your scholarship. Money is unlikely to be an issue for you anymore.”

“Why not?” Rey said suspiciously. The thought of money not being an issue was completely foreign. 

“Because you don’t have to buy food anymore and technically you don’t need to sleep anymore. It’s amazing how much you can get done when you don’t need to sleep.”

“I don’t need food anymore?” Rey was honestly more upset about this than that she needed blood to survive now. “Like I can’t eat food or I just don’t need it?”

“It’s all in the book. I suggest you start reading.”

“I don’t want your dumb book.” She grumbled, knowing full well she would read the entire thing. 

“I want to go back to the issue you brushed off. I’m not living with you.”

“Well it’s a good thing neither of us are living then,” he deadpanned.

“I can’t believe I used to think you were funny.”

“You thought I was funny? Most of my students just think I’m the devil incarnate.”

“Who taught you to deflect so much? Are we really not going to discuss this?”

His tone of voice changed when he spoke next. The light teasing was gone. “When you went to your apartment did you smell your roommate’s blood? Could you see her pulse and know that there was fresh, hot blood inches away? How close did you get before you realized what you were doing? What do you think would happen when you’re surrounded by it? When you can sense it pounding through the veins of your friends and peers? What happens when you’re so thirsty and you think ‘I just need a taste, just a little…’”

“I would never-” She cut herself off. She couldn’t be sure of that anymore. Not after experiencing the need she had felt back at the apartment. She sawt quietly, considering his words in the context of her new terrifying existence.

“Rey we’re doing this to help you,” Chirrut spoke up.

“We don’t want you to hurt anyone. We want to help you find your place in all this. We’ll show you,” Ben added gently.

“If I did,” she gulped, “If I did attack someone, the book says I’ll be killed. Would it be you two?”

They both stilled, not saying anything for a long time. The only sounds were from the engine and the quiet click of the turn signal. 

“Technically yes. If it happened during your transition period.” Chirrut answered.

Ben’s grip on the steering wheel tightened.

“What about after my transition period?”

“Then it would be whoever Kylo Ren orders to do it. Though I hear he does it himself just as often as someone else. But Rey dear, please know that in the two centuries that I have witnessed only 7 vampires have been killed for attacking humans.”

“Rey,” He caught her eyes in the mirror, “ I’m never going to let that happen. I’ll help you learn to control it.” 

Despite all her fear Rey couldn’t help but believe him. There was something in his eyes… 

“Hang on! Your eyes changed color,” She blurted out, ruining the moment. He scoffed and turned off the car. They’d arrived without her realizing it. 

She got out quickly determined to get a straight answer for once. “Your eyes are like a whiskey brown, why are they red now?”

“Do you assign such specific eye colors to all your professors or is it just me?”

Rey shuffled a bit with embarrassment. “Well you’re the only professor who chats with me at work,” she snapped. “You did it again!”

“Did what?”

“Avoided the question.”

“Sorry, habit. It’s second nature to deflect if anyone asks about vampire things.” He started to walk away pointing over his should. “Come inside and I’ll answer any questions you have.”

Rey shouldered her bag and stepped around to the other side of the car and got her first good look at the house. 

“Figures this would be where you live.” She mumbled under her breath. The house, if it could be called that was clearly once an old manor. It somehow reminded her of Pemberly and the Bennet’s house from the 2005 film. The stone walls stood tall, dark and intimidating yet it was softened by the Boston Ivy crawling up the walls. The leaves were changing in a gradient from deep scarlet to light peach. It gave the otherwise intimidating house a softer edge, making it seem more like a home. 

She jumped slightly when he spoke from behind her.

“Again, it depends on your definition of living.” 

Rey observed his expression while he spoke, stepping up level with her. There was a haunted look in his eyes. He put a hand on her back, gently guiding her toward the door. She was highly aware of his hand, of how close he was. It was comforting.

“Come on, let’s finally answer your questions.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [House Inspiration: Longbourn](https://cpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/dist/d/2251/files/2013/11/Longbourn-1024x608.jpg)   
[House Inspiration](https://homes.trovit.co.uk/listing/5-bedroom-detached-house-for-sale.18151J1A1Q_Q1k)  
[Boston Ivy](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/03/41/f5/0341f5fca031bd5f300d0d1998f88fc4.jpg)
> 
> No matter what happens in TROS I'm really grateful for the whole Reylo community and the positive impact you've all had on my life. Even if things don't work out the way we would like them to, let's all keep making amazing content okay? Okay.


	7. Conversations and Almost Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey gets some answers and they both have more questions for themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!  
Thank you to everyone in the writing den who has given me advice on this chapter. And special thanks to BurntKloverfield and Ann3onymous for being good friends and giving me feedback.

The interior of the house was immaculate. Rey was impressed with how well the home reflected its owner. She recognized embellishments from past centuries that Ben had discussed in class. 

No space was left without purpose even if that purpose was to provide a void to reflect. 

“Were you the architect?” she asked as they climbed a grand staircase to the second floor, her hand trailing thoughtfully over the woodwork of the banister. 

“And the carpenter,” He answered, also tracing the patterns in the handrail, “and the stonemason.” 

She nodded, impressed. “You carved the figure in the keystone outside? The one with the inscription?”  _ The one that says never forget? _

He nodded but kept climbing.

While the first floor had been a collection of slate grays and dusty blues that tied the different styles together the second floor was a vision of light. Great open windows framed by white and gold brocade curtains let in sunlight that bounced off of the white walls. Dark wood accents balanced out the light, giving the space a sophisticated but homey feel. 

“There is a third floor, but that’s more of my private space so I’ll ask you to not go up there by yourself,” He requested as he led them to a sitting room filled with bookshelves framing an ornate mantle.

“Of course,” she took a seat across from him in front of the mantle, “I’ve been thinking while you showed me around. I know a lot of the answers to my questions are in the book”

He nodded approvingly, “Yes, the different biology and general how to survive as a vampire is all in there.” 

“So my question is, is there anything you want to tell me that’s not in the book?”

He was impressed with her tactic and told her as much. Rey studied his face closely as he spoke. She could tell that he had thought of an immediate answer to her question but had chosen to speak it. She filed it away to reflect on later when things were a little more settled.

“I think discussing how you’re going to handle the situation with your friends is the most important topic, if we are to avoid what is already covered in the book.”

Rey leaned back in her chair deflating a little, “What do you suggest? Because I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to lie to them, but I apparently can’t tell them the truth.”

“You’re right, you can’t. The only reason our species has been able to survive is because of our dedication to secrecy.” The haunted look that Rey had observed so often was back. “This is how it has to be.” 

He shook himself out of his memories, “But about your case,” He straightened up a little. “The police report has no evidence that Teedo was there, though that is what most people have assumed, that he either kidnapped or killed you. You can keep it pretty close to the truth without telling them anything vampire-related.”

“And what would the truth be? I was unconscious for most of it,” her face scrunched up trying to remember. “What happened that night anyway? Why did Teedo attack me? ”

“I can only guess at his reasoning, you have the gene so your blood smelled particularly…” He paused, trying to find the appropriate description, “intoxicating.”

Rey folded her arms over her chest, “My blood smelled intoxicating.” her voice was flat with disbelief. “Then why didn’t you-” she cut herself off when she realized what she was implying.

“Why didn’t I attack you and drink your blood?” He let out a sort of self-deprecating snort. “I wanted to.”

Rey stiffened.

He continued with a hard look in his eyes “A vampire’s body is designed to desire human blood to the point of insanity. It’s an instinct you can’t turn off. But you can dictate how you respond.”

The intensity radiating off him sent shivers down her spine, this feeling was entirely new and a little intoxicating. Rey was perched on the edge of her seat, her focus entirely on him and the words coming from incredibly distracting lips.

“The temptation to take another’s blood will always be there, it doesn’t fade. It’s like an itch you can never get to because it’s inside of you. You learn to control it or you break, tearing yourself apart. Teedo broke.”

His steely eyes met hers, “That’s what gets easier, the control, but the temptation?” He shook his head, “That never goes away.” 

Rey sat quietly for a moment considering his words, “When I woke up, they said my clothes were too bloody to salvage, someone turned me, had me drink their blood.” Her voice was steady as she puzzled the pieces together “They would have had to get close to me to do that. I was probably bleeding all over them…”

Ben was very careful with his expression, trying desperately to remain neutral while remembering the way her blood had soaked through his gloves leaving his hands covered in her precious blood.

“So if like you say my blood was intoxicating and the temptation never goes away, wouldn’t it have been easier to just finish me off?”

Ben’s head snapped up, “NO,” he said emphatically. “The one who turned you,” he gritted his teeth, “has seen too many people die.”

There was a glint in her eye. “So you know who it was? I mean I can figure out it was probably one of the generals based on what you’ve said since I doubt the King would have done it.”

He looked down at his hands uncomfortably, “I don’t want to lie to you but there are things… things I can’t tell you about that night.”

“What? Why not?”

He huffed in frustration. “I just can’t. Not yet. If you trust me at all, please trust me that I will tell you eventually-” he cut himself off before he could let anything else slip. He had to steer the conversation back to what she was going to tell her friends. 

“After you passed out The King and The Generals took you to Starkiller, that’s the name of the manor you woke up in and waited for your transformation to finish.”

“Alright, so I tell my friends that Teedo attacked me but someone intervened and took me with them and I passed out for several days only to come home when I woke up?” She listed incredulously, “How is that going to be believable?”

Ben shrugged, “It’s the truth. And, it’s not uncommon for a person’s body to shut down temporarily after experiencing trauma. You have the perfect reason to not explain anything that happened. It’s perfectly feasible that you may have forgotten what happened after you entered that alley.”

“So you won’t lie to me, but you expect me to lie to my friends? The only people who have ever cared about me?” she demanded, getting to her feet and starting to pace in front of the fireplace.

“It’s the only way you’ll be able to stay in their lives,” he responded with more gentleness than she deserved after her outburst. “Not many of us get that option.”

“And why’s that? Because Kylo Ren decrees it?” She shot back.

“It’s necessary,” His expression grew cold as he stood, facing her with arms crossed in front of his chest. “Imagine 50, 60, 70 years from now. Your friends will all be old and dying. And you, you will be the same. I’ve watched it drive good people insane.” He was very close to her now. “To be undead means that we don’t age anymore, the world will keep turning, people will keep living and dying while we just,” He pursed his lips before spitting out the word like a curse, “remain.” 

Rey’s expression softened slightly at the pain written clearly across his face. “I’m sorry for your losses,” she murmured,

“And I’m sorry for yours.” How he could swing from frustrated and impassioned to gentle and reassuring so quickly, Rey didn’t know. All she knew was that she was grateful for his honesty and that he was here to help her. 

They merely stood there holding each other’s gaze for a moment, a deeper mutual understanding settling around them like a comforting blanket.

Her eyes strayed to his lips. She caught herself wondering once again if they were as soft as they looked.

“Well,” She stepped back, afraid of what she was feeling, “That book isn’t going to read itself…”

He too seemed to shake himself from his thoughts, “Right, of course, I’ll show you your room and leave you to it.”

______

Having shown Rey her rooms, Ben retreated to the third floor. He berated himself as he paced the well-worn path in the carpet of his own room.

Why did he promise that? It was on purpose that he kept his identities separate with only a certain few knowing the truth. He barely knew this girl. Why was he going around promising to tell her who he was?

He pinched the bridge of his nose. Mitaka and the others had been right to question his motives; it was time he did so himself.

Rey was… Rey was unique. In all his years, he’d never met anyone quite like her. She possessed a fire in her eyes that promised retribution if you messed with her, but he had also glimpsed what seemed like a well of infinite kindness. 

And then, of course, there was the engrained loneliness she held. 

That, more than anything, is what drew him to her. The broken pieces of his soul recognized a kindred spirit, and he was determined not to lose her. But what did that make him?

The conflicting sides of himself battled it out in his head. 

_ I’m too old for her.  _

_ We’re both immortal now so what did it matter? _

_ She’s my student. _

_ Not anymore. _

_ I’m too damaged. _

_ She has her own demons.  _

_ We might be able to help each other. _

_ You like her. _

_ I shouldn’t. _

_ But you do anyway. _

His frustration only grew until he stopped pacing and leaned against the mantle, his head propped up by his forearm. 

_ I don’t know what to do. _

____

Rey did intend to read the book, but she found her thoughts straying every time she tried to refocus. She’d read the same passage, the explanation why vampire eyes turned red when thirsty, over and over again barely processing it until finally, she gave up. 

She set aside the book and got off the bed, which was another king-sized four-poster. Ben and whoever furnished Starkiller must have similar taste. Or maybe vampires just liked showing off how rich they were. 

Just another question she didn’t have the answer to. 

She paced around the room aimlessly before settling again, this time on the deeply recessed window seal. 

This was why she had been reluctant to stay here. She was attracted to Ben and that was a problem. 

_ But is it? _

_ He’s my teacher. _

_ Not anymore…  _

She grumbled and pulled her knees up to her chest.

_ Well, then he’s too old. _

_ You don’t even know how old he is. _

_ He’s clearly been a vampire for a LONG time. _

_ But does that matter? You’re apparently immortal now.  _

_ I don’t want to be left again. _

_ So what? You’re going to refuse to have another relationship of any sort for the rest of your now very long life? _

“Ugh, go away me.” Rey scrubbed at her eyes. “Whatever happens will happen, just wait. It’s what we’re good at,” she reassured herself.

____

Rey called Rose that first afternoon and explained that she would be away for a while giving vague excuses of needing time to process and promising that she would explain everything when she eventually came home. 

The days passed quietly after that, they both spent a lot of time reading, neither avoiding nor seeking the other out, with some interactions standing out more than others. Like when Rey managed to spill blood on her last clean shirt, and he let her borrow one of his ridiculously soft black henleys. It had come to mid-thigh and she had to roll the sleeves up 3 times to be able to even see her hands. She’d been reluctant to return it when her own clothes came out of the wash. 

They met mostly in the kitchen where Ben stored his frankly excessive supply of blood, after the spilled blood incident, and increasingly in the library on the second floor. The room had quickly become her favorite. Filled with natural light and soft armchairs and couches, it was the perfect space to read and think. 

Ben left each day to teach his classes but would return as soon as he was finished only for Rey to bombard him with her own questions. He was happy to answer them, and it became their custom to sit in the library and talk for hours at a time.

On the seventh day, Rey summoned up the courage to ask what had been on her mind.

“How old are you?” She slid onto the seat next to him in the second-floor library.

He looked up from his book in surprise, “30. Why?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

He put the book down gently with a sigh. “I would really rather you didn’t know.”

“Why? Afraid I’ll think you’re too old for me?” Rey’s face blanched, “Er, I mean, uh, just, nevermind.” 

She knocked his book off the end table in her haste to leave. “Sorry!”

When she reached to pick up the book her fingers brushed his. She looked into his eyes hesitantly, not sure what she wanted to find there. 

His expression was calm but there was a glint of hope, maybe caused by her slip. He cleared his throat and she realized they were both still holding the book. 

“Oh! Sorry! I’ll just-” She let go of the book and took a step back intending to actually leave this time.

“Stay,” he commanded, “please,” the please was uttered so gently that Rey’s chest felt it might implode.

She nodded slowly, still embarrassed.

“It’s not that I’m afraid I’m too old for you, that’s not a question.” he put the book down, “I’m hesitant to tell you because I fear that it may worsen your opinion of me and-” 

He desperately wanted to take one of her hands in his, as a lifeline, as courage to continue speaking. But he didn’t.

Rey smiled softly to herself, the more time she spent with him she noticed that his speech patterns started to sound more regency than the 21st century. 

She took a tentative step forward just enough to show interest but not enough to be intrusive. “I very much doubt that,” she was reminded just how tall he was when she ended up looking up at him through her eyelashes, “I don’t want to make you tell me if you would rather not, but I would like to know someday if you’re ever comfortable enough to tell me.”

They settled into an easy companionable silence, each retreating to their own preferred reading spots. 

And if they occasionally caught the other’s eye only to look down pretending to actually be reading, neither would mention it until much, much later. 


	8. All Good Things Must Come to an End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is lost in thought  
Ben makes a decision  
Rose, Poe, and Finn break the law

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, sorry, again. I've had most of this written for 2 weeks but there was one part that was just killing me plus the semester started and yadda yadda yadda.  
Thanks for sticking in there with me. I have more than half a plan now of how I want this to end so I will semi-confidently say that the chapter count is correct now.  
Thank you so much for all of the kudos and comments, they mean the world to me.

October passed slowly. The transition from needing to sleep every night to being constantly awake took a toll on Rey’s perception of time. Nights were spent listlessly wandering the house or lying on her bed staring up at the ceiling. The days were easier with Ben to keep her company but after midnight Ben would disappear up to the third floor and wouldn’t come down until morning. 

Some days were easier than others and today… today wasn’t one of them.

Rey lay on her bed amid a blanket nest, one arm thrown over her eyes with the other bunched around a pillow clutched to her chest. What was she going to do with her life now? Her friends had to be held at a distance for their own safety, all her progress in school was put on hold, hopefully not indefinitely but who really knew. Her dreams of finding belonging seemed so far out of reach now. First school had been enough, then her friends had been enough and now, now she had neither. She felt lost and alone again, like the little girl she’d been back in Jakku, dreaming of her parents, and then the disillusioned teenager who craved for someone to call hers craved for a family. Then at least she’d had hope that one day she would grow up and be able to make her own life. Now… now she wasn’t sure what the future holds and it was terrifying.

She’d lain like this for several hours now, stuck in a loop of hopelessness. Begrudgingly she dragged herself off the bed and towards the window. From her room, she could see the garden that her host could occasionally be seen puttering around in. Ben was hunched over near a rose bush in the early-morning light. Rey wouldn’t have been able to tell what he was doing with her old human eyes but now she could see clearly even though he was far from the house. He had a wheelbarrow full of straw with him that he was surrounding the bases of the roses with. She watched him work for a while, taking a seat in the pillowed window seal. A stray beam of sunlight pushed through the swirly hopeless cloud of her thoughts. 

She wasn’t alone, not really. She had Ben.

The man in question looked up from his work and turned to the house. He caught her eye causing them both to smile lightly. She raised a hand in greeting, pleased to be noticed, but embarrassed to have been caught. He lifted a dirt-covered hand tentatively waved back. 

“Come down! I want to show you something!” He shouted.

Curious, Rey hurried downstairs, taking childish pleasure in sliding down the railing, a habit she’d formed after discovering that Ben didn’t mind. French doors with frosted antique glass opened onto the back garden. Rey ran a hand over the weathered brass knob pausing to appreciate the intricate details engraved there. 

Ben had temporarily abandoned his project and was leaning against the trunk of an ancient gnarled tree watching her with a warmth in his eyes that caused a spark of lingering warmth to spread within Rey.

“You wanted to show me something?”

He guided towards where he’d been working, his fingers just brushing the small of her back. 

“That yellow dahlia you’ve been watching finally opened.”

Rey grabbed his hand in excitement and ran the remaining distance, dragging an amused Ben behind her. 

With the Halloween less than a week away they were expecting the first frost any day now. Rey’s favorite flower in the garden had several unopened blossoms but one of them was closer than the others and she’d been hoping to see it bloom before the frost killed them all. Each petal on the golden dahlia was rimmed in scarlet with the occasional red streak bisecting a petal or several.

She caressed the petals with the back of her fingers, smiling gently she turned to Ben. “Thank you for showing me.”

He mimed tipping a non-existent hat, “My pleasure.”  
He looked around the garden, taking in the various late bloomers amidst the spent blossoms. 

“Do you want to bring that one inside?”

Rey considered carefully, “No, not this one. It should be able to enjoy being alive for as long as it can. If we brought it inside, we’d just be prolonging the inevitable.”

Ben pursed his lips, considering her, “That’s an unusually morbid thought from you… are you doing alright?”

Rey sighed and turned her attention back to the flower, finding it was easier to keep tracing the petals than to meet Ben’s eyes right now. “I spent all night thinking about whether it would have been better if I’d actually died that night.” 

She sensed more than saw him stiffen behind her. She couldn’t see the pain on his face, his eyes pressed firmly shut, or the way his hand rotated between open and clenched.

He dropped to his knees beside her, taking her small hand in his own massive pair. He stroked the back of her hand gently, trying to catch her eye. When she stubbornly refused to look up, he lifted one hand to her chin and coaxed her to meet his eyes. 

“Rey-”

“No, don’t,” she swallowed thickly, “I know I shouldn’t think like that I’m sorry I won’t-”

“Hey,” he stopped her, “You’re allowed to be hurting. I know how hard it is. Just know that I’m here for you. I want to help you. You’re not alone.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over her lashes. Without warning she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. 

“Neither are you.”

She hadn’t cried since that first day at Starkiller when she’d been so overwhelmed, she broke down in front of the vampire king and his general.

Since then she’d been strong, but even the strongest people could only hold out for so long. 

Ben held her as she cried. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she’d been held as she cried, certainly not at any point in the system, maybe once by Finn but that was different. 

She felt safe in his house but here, wrapped up in his arms, Rey felt invincible, like nothing in the world could ever hurt her again. He kept his hold on her as long as she needed. When she finally drew back her eyes were a heartbreakingly human version of red and puffy.

Ben’s eyes scanned her face, thoughts tumbling visibly behind them Words desperately clung to the tip of his tongue, afraid to be said.

“Ben?” She prompted.

“There’s a book.” He blurted out.

Rey laughed weakly, “It’s always a book with you.”

He glared at her though she could tell he was kidding, “I’m old fashioned, sue me,” he griped. 

“There’s a book I think would help you. I have to go get it from Starkiller though. It’s by a vampire who felt similar to what you’re feeling now and contains his thoughts and musings on the quality of life as a vampire.”

“Does it have a happy ending?”

“It’s not that kind of book but,” Ben admitted, but then smiled softly, eyes only for her, “I think so.”

___

Rey leaned against the doorframe watching Ben retreat down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom still hanging on to the rail and turned back to face her.

“I’ll be back soon,” He seemed like he was reassuring himself as well as her, “I canceled class because they have a test next time, so I just need to get the book and I’ll be right back.”

“You’re not taking the car?” 

He shook his head, a grin stretched across his face. Rey’s heart jumped at the sight. 

“No need to pretend to be human where I’m going.”

“Go on then,” Rey made a little shooing motion with her hand, “The book said we can run fast,” there was a glint in her eye, “Prove it.”

He mock saluted, stepping backward off the final stair, “Yes, ma’am”.

And just like that, he was gone. Rey’s eyes followed his retreating form for a few seconds before he disappeared into the distance. 

Oh, I’ve got to try that… 

She half a mind to experiment right that second but after some deliberation, and for reasons she didn’t want to examine too closely, she decided to wait until Ben got back.

_____

The overstuffed couch in the library was perfectly positioned to make the best use of the warm afternoon sunlight that filled the room. She’d been relieved when the book explained that no, vampires don’t literally burn in the sun, humans came to that assumption after observing that vampires preferred to go out at night. If anything, they were a little more prone to regular ole human sunburns. 

Rey made herself a nest of pillows and blankets. Armed with a new book and a sweater she had permanently borrowed from Ben she settled in prepared to wait until Ben came home. 

Home.

When did she start referring to this place as home?

_____

The peaceful silence came to an abrupt stop. In the near distance, there was the unmistakable sound of a car coming up the gravel drive. 

Rey clambered out of her nest and raced to the window. No one ever came here. Ever. Maybe they were lost? 

She drew back the sheer curtain to get a better look.

Crap.

They were definitely not lost.

Because the car coming up the drive was the hideous orange monstrosity Poe somehow called his car.

No no no no no no no

Maybe they’ll just leave when no one answers the door Rey tried to reassure herself. 

She watched as her three friends exited the car looking nervous but determined. Rey stood stone still partially concealed by the glare of the window. 

Do they know I’m here? How did they even find this house? We’re in the middle of nowhere.

She watched them come to the front door but, instead of knocking like polite, civilized members of society, they just turned the knob and walked right in.

I’m friends with morons. Who just walks into some stranger’s house?!?

Frantically, she ran through the scenarios. Show herself or not. Let them poke around and hide and hope they leave? No, they would definitely find the blood in the kitchen and knowing Poe, he would do something stupid with that information.

Her path decided, she grabbed her flask and drained it.

I can do this, it’s control, I control myself, I can do this. Screwing up is not an option. I won’t hurt them; I’ll be perfectly normal and human and then I’ll get them to leave. Somehow.

Rey breathed in deeply filling her lungs with air necessary for speech, if not for survival, and left the safety of the library to confront her friends.

____

The trio of well-meaning but technically criminal friends crept into the foyer looking around in wonder. 

Finn whistled lowly, “This guy really is loaded. Do all professors make this much?”

A moaning creak came from upstairs, cutting off Poe’s snarky response.

“It’s an old house…” Rose murmured, trying to reassure the boys who’d stopped, “Come on, let’s get what we came for and get out of here before Solo gets back from class”. 

They followed her reluctantly Finn muttering repeatedly to himself, “We’re doing this for Rey. We’re doing this for Rey…”

They crept forward out of the foyer, the low ceiling giving way to reveal a grand entry hall, complete with sweeping ornate staircase. Rose stumbled as Finn walked into her, unprepared for her sudden stop. “Rose,” he hissed, “why’d you-” 

Oh. 

Standing resolutely on the landing and backlit by the dramatic window behind her was Rey. 

A very alive, seemingly unhurt, and extremely annoyed Rey.

She crossed her arms over her chest, “You know, there’s this social custom called knocking.” 

“Rey!” Three voices yelled in unison.

Rey cracked a small smile and descended the stairs.

Finn ran up to her and tried to hug her.

She stepped away quickly, backing out of his arms.

A look of hurt confusion painted his face, “Rey?”

“Don’t touch me right now,” Her voice was lower than usual, “Please.”

Rose put her hand on Finn’s arm, dragging him back gently. She looked at him pointedly, a subtle, ‘We don’t know what she’s been through’.

“I gotta say,” Poe looked like a physical weight that had been crushing him had suddenly been lifted, “I’m so glad to see you’re okay. We didn’t know what we would find if anything.”

“Yeah, what did you expect breaking in?” Rey questioned, “How did you even find this place?”

Finn and Poe pointed at Rose.

She sighed dramatically, “It’s really not that hard to find out where someone lives these days if you know where to look. I did some digging through public records, after searching Ben Solo in land grants I found this house and then found out that the land was purchased by a Ben Solo is the 1600’s and then there were property taxes paid by a Ben Solo in 1840 and again in 2013. Now I guess Ben Solo could just be a family name but no other Solos have lived here. I searched the other names and I found a picture of Adam Douglas in military records from the late 1800’s and you know what I found?” Rose pulled out her phone and handed it to Rey who took it with trembling hands.

The grainy image was of three men with their arms slung around each other, a fourth man was trying to walk away but was held back by the collar of his coat. The retreating man’s face was in profile, but Rey recognized Ben immediately.

She handed the phone back, “So? People look like their ancestors, there’s this thing called genetics.” 

“Really Rey? That’s the excuse you’re going to go for?” Poe grabbed the phone and pulled up the picture again, “This isn’t just family resemblance, this is Solo. In 1889. He’s a vampire, admit it! The way we see it, either he’s a vampire and he’s keeping you here as his personal snack,” Rey tried to interject but Poe talked over her, “Or you ran away to live with him and this whole thing is some messed up love affair.”

Rey blinked slowly, taking in all of Poe’s accusations. Her jaw was set and there was a fire in her eyes. 

She stomped forward and pointed accusingly into his chest. A flash of pain crossed Poe’s face, but she missed it in her anger. 

“You take that back. You have no idea what I’ve been through. You have no idea why I’m here. And you do NOT,” she snarled, “get just make assumptions that are so laughably far from the already ridiculous truth.” She jabbed her finger into his chest forcing him to step backwards, “I am NOT a prisoner. Ben did NOT kidnap me. He’s NOT a vampire. And I am certainly NOT ‘his personal snack’” she looked absolutely disgusted, “I am here because I CHOOSE to be here. And that is NOT because I am sleeping with him.” Her chest was heaving from anger. Her eyes widened suddenly, and she drew her hand back as though she’d been shocked. She retreated away from Poe, who rubbed the spot she’d been pressing on. 

“So…” He hesitated slightly, “you are sleeping with him?” 

“What? No! Did you even listen to what I said?”

“You said you choose to be here and it’s not because you’re sleeping with him.”

Rey’s face flushed scarlet, “No, no, no, no, that’s not what I meant. I said that because you-” she growled in frustration and brought her steepled hands in front of her face, “Look, I am, now repeat after me, NOT sleeping with him. That is not what I meant. I didn’t run away to be with him in some torrid affair. I’m here because he doesn’t expect anything from me, he’s just letting me stay here until I’m ready to go back. That’s it.”

Rose stepped forward before Poe could open his fat mouth again. “We believe you Rey.” She shot a look at Poe. “We’re just confused and want you to come home.”

Rey flinched a little at the word but didn’t comment on it. “I can’t. Not yet.” She shook her head as though trying to clear it. Her hand clenched into a fist, knuckles white. “I need you all to leave before Ben gets back and gets you arrested for breaking into his house.”

“What? No!” Poe pushed his way forward “We’re not leaving unless you come with us!” 

“You’re not listening to me. I’m not leaving.”

“We just want to understand,” Finn spoke up, “Did you fall in love with him? Is that why you won’t leave?” 

Rey spluttered, suddenly more flustered than angry. “It’s not like that either.”

That was the wrong thing to say.

“Then what is it like? Because it looks like you’re choosing to live with your young, hot, possibly a vampire, professor”

She groaned into her hand before snapping “I already told you!” 

Rose noticed that she didn’t address the second half of Finn’s statement.

“You want to know what happened? I can’t tell you! Because I don’t remember! Ben knows what this is like. He knows. The same thing happened to him and he knows.” Her voice softened, “I love you guys and I’ll tell you eventually when I’ve had time to process it myself. I will come home,” She choked on the word, “eventually. But I can’t yet. That’s why I’m staying.” Her eyes were clamped shut as though she was in pain, “And why you’re leaving.”

She turned away and made it a few steps up until several things happened at once. Poe charged up the stairs after her, grabbing her wrist attempting to stop her. 

Rose was yelling at him to stop.

Almost on contact, Rey whirled around and shoved. 

Poe went flying, time seemed to stand still as everyone watch his trajectory, but everyone was frozen in place. 

He hit the ground with a crash, his head sliding into the sharp corner of the baseboards with a sickening thud.

Finn was at his side instantly. “Poe! Poe buddy, you okay? Talk to me!”

Poe groaned, propping himself up on his elbows, his other hand going to the back of his head. When he brought it back it was covered in blood.

Rose turned back to face Rey, the anger fizzling immediately to be replaced by fear.

“Rey?” Rose whispered, horrified.

Her entire posture was different, her eyes bright and blood red. Her face was a predatory mask of indifference as she stalked forward slowly, one step at a time.

“Rey, what are you doing?! Stop!”

She just snarled, really and truly snarled, her upper lip curling back to reveal prominent sharp fangs that definitely were not there before. 

Their frantic shouts had no effect. 

She tensed, visibly preparing to attack.

Rose flinched and shrunk back, shutting her eyes. They were wrong. They’d been so wrong. 

They were afraid of the wrong person.

The sound of bodies colliding made Rose open her eyes a little in morbid curiosity. 

The sound wasn’t Rey attacking Poe. It was Dr. Solo trying to contain her.

He’d appeared out of nowhere, at the last possible second and was now grappling with Rey trying to keep her arms pinned to her sides.

“Rey, snap out of it!” 

She growled and launched herself backward, causing Solo to stumble and lose his grip. 

Rey took the opportunity to break free. Moving faster than humanly possible she sprang forward towards Poe who was still on the ground frozen with fear. 

But Solo was just as fast and tackled her before she got there. 

He looked up and made eye contact with Rose, “Get him out of here!” he grunted.

Rose and Finn were momentarily too scared to move. 

Solo huffed in frustration before bodily picking a still struggling Rey off the ground and throwing her over his shoulder, “Now!” 

They scrambled to help Poe up and stumbled back through the foyer and out the door.

____

In the house, Ben took Rey to the kitchen fighting to keep her contained, she’d managed to scratch his face and he could feel blood threatening to drip into his eye. He put her down briefly to open the door to the walk-in cooler they used as a pantry/fridge and shoved her inside, apologizing profusely in his head the entire time. He braced himself against the door, holding it in place against Rey’s continued attempts to escape.  
“Rey! Listen to me!” She shouted over the noise she was making, “You need to focus. You’re in control. Think about your friends, how much they mean to you, why you don’t want to hurt them.” 

The pounding slowly decreased in frequency and volume. Ben pressed his ear to the door and could faintly hear her moving around. She must have realized she was literally surrounded by blood. He waited patiently for a few minutes, eventually letting out a sigh of relief when he heard her come back and the soft thud of her forehead leaning against the door.

“Ben,” Her voice sounded muffled, “Is Poe alright?” Rey’s voice was choked with tears.

He gulped, “He’ll be alright. My bet is he has a concussion and needs stitches, but you didn’t touch him.”

They slid to the floor in unison.

“That’s not true, I pushed him, that’s why he got hurt. This is all my fault.” 

“Start from the beginning, what happened?” He asked trying to be gentle despite having no idea what was going on.

She explained what happened with a shaky voice, stumbling over what she’d argued with Poe about, clearly leaving something out. He’d have to ask her about that later.

“He hit his head and I could smell the blood, and everything went red, I couldn’t stop myself…”  
She was full-on sobbing now, “I could have killed him. If you hadn’t been here, I would have”

Ben shut his eyes and let his head fall back against the door feeling guilty for ever having left.

“And they know now, there is no way to spin that any different than the truth. I broke the rules.” Her voice got quieter; she was scared. “Am I going to die? What about them? What happens to humans who know?”  
Ben wouldn’t let this continue, he had to tell her. He opened the door and caught Rey before she could fall. She cried into his shoulder mumbling incoherently

“I’m sorry… My fault… Should have listened… Don’t want to go…”

“Hey,” He shushed her, brushing the hair out of her eyes, “Nothing bad is going to happen to you or to your friends. I promise.” He stroked her cheek with her thumb in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

"But the rules, the book-”

"No one is going to die" Ben emphasized. 

“How can you promise that? Kylo Ren-”

He cut her off, “Isn’t going to do anything about this,” He stated firmly.

Her eyes sharpened, "how can you be so sure?"

He swallowed nervously, "Because,” He steeled himself resigned to the fact that she will probably hate him after this. 

“I am Kylo Ren"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the next chapter is already written so it shouldn't be as long of a wait this time! There will be resolution!


	9. If I had a nickel for every time someone accused me of being in love with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone talks, there are feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really wanted to finish this as part of the writing den's 'finish your WIP's in January' event. I should edit this more but oh well. I have the next chapter written in a notebook and if I feel super ambitious I may post that tonight too but... we shall see.

“I am Kylo Ren"

Rey shifted backward away from him, "What?" Hurt and betrayal crossed her face.

He hurried to explain, "I was going to tell you tonight, it's in the book I brought for you. I've wanted to tell you for a while-"

Rey held up a hand, her eyes closed. She held the pause for a moment, "Alright, okay. We are going to talk about this later. At length. But right now," she took a deep breath and took his hands in hers, drawing nearer to him. "Right now my friends are confused and probably panicking and Poe is hurt."

He stared down at their clasped hands in disbelief, "And you're okay with this? With me?"

"Right now, no not really"

Ben looked like a kicked puppy, one that knew what’d he’d done wrong but nonetheless, a kicked puppy.

"But," Rey squeezed his hand reassuringly "I'm willing to listen. After-" she looked up at him, a soft pleading look in her eyes, "We take care of my friends."

He nodded once. "You should probably stay here until Poe stops bleeding. I'll go check on them and come get you in a minute. Okay?"

It was her turn to nod. "Will you be okay? With Poe bleeding I mean?" 

He lifted an eyebrow, "You were bleeding a lot more than Poe is" 

She blinked rapidly, "Was it… Did you…?"

He held her hand like a lifeline, “Yes. It was me that turned you.” His eyes pleaded for understanding, “Even then I couldn’t stand the thought of a world without you in it.”

A timid knock drew their attention to Rose standing in the doorway of the kitchen. They jumped apart, neither realizing just how close they'd been. Ben stepping slightly in front of Rey protectively, which Rey found amusing considering the size difference between the two not to mention you know the fact that one of them was apparently the King of Vampires. 

"Um… Poe's not bleeding anymore and Finn's got him cleaned up. Can we all… talk?"

"Yes. Ask the others to come in here." Ben's voice was different, the rich baritone adopting an authoritative tone, that Rey couldn’t help find attractive. 

While Rose was gone Ben filled a bottle with blood and pressed it into Rey's hands. "If you feel the slightest bit tempted," he commanded in the same voice. It was like his professor voice but more intense. The voice of a king. 

Definitely attractive. 

Though the last few minutes had completely shifted her worldview, her friend's timid entry was enough to keep her grounded as her heart swelled with love for them that they had stayed even though they must have been terrified. 

Ben lead them all to the rarely used dining room table. Rey walked in step with him, her friends trailed behind a bit like lost, confused ducklings.

He drew out a chair for Rey and pushed it in for her before taking his own seat on her left. It was a sweet gesture that she deeply appreciated. No one had ever done that for her before. The fact that he’d put her on his right hand wasn’t lost on her either. 

Her friends sat together opposite them, leaving the two ends unoccupied. Silence permeated the room growing thicker by the second. She didn’t know how to start and Ben gave no indication of being the one to speak first.

Luckily Poe’s signature hatred of silence overcame his trepidation before too long. “ So who talks first? You talk first? We talk first?”

Ben looked to Rey and with a quirked eyebrow indicated that the ball was in her court. She drew a shaky breath to calm her nerves. Her reluctance must have shown on her face because he took her hand under the table and gave it a comforting squeeze. 

It gave her the courage to look them in the eyes.

“I’m sorry for all the lies.” She started

Rose smiled encouragingly.

“I wanted to tell you but,” She glanced at Ben, “It wasn’t safe for you, obviously…” She nodded at Poe, who looked guilty.

“I shouldn't have tried to make you come with us. I’m sorry. I’ve been going crazy since you disappeared. I thought you’d been kidnapped or murdered and it was my faulty and then Rose said she saw you but then you up and disappeared. Again. And we’ve been so worried and then we caught Solo talking to someone on the phone about you and-”

“What do you mean caught?” Ben asked, a little too calmly.

Rose and Finn glared at Poe. 

Rose sighed, “We bugged your office,” she mumbled.

Ben stared them down with his trademark glower, causing them to wilt uncomfortably in their seats.

“I’m glad she has friends that will go to such lengths for her.” 

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

“It instills a little more confidence that you won’t go blathering our secrets.”

His statement was the catalyst that brought the conversation to the dreaded yet needed topic. 

“You’re a vampire now?” Finn asked, speaking for the first time. Her oldest friend’s face was hard to read. She hoped that fear wasn’t still present in that cocktail of emotions. 

She glanced at Ben again for guidance, double-checking that she could tell them, but he merely shrugged.

With a huff, she turned back to Finn. “Yes, we both are.” She gestured to Ben with her free hand.  
“That’s why I came here originally, he was assigned to help me through the transition. He’s been helping me adjust.”

“And you definitely came here of your own free will?”

Ben glared at him. Finn flinched but didn’t withdraw his question.

“Why do you all think he’s forcing me to stay here?” Rey demanded.

Poe leaned his forearms on the table “That night,” he shuddered, his guilt eating away at him, 

“That night, when I confronted him,” his eyes flicked to Ben and back to Rey, “He took off and then you and Teedo both just vanished and then he basically disappeared, barely showing up to teach his classes. I just thought it was suspicious. And maybe…” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I might have jumped to conclusions again.”

“Poe,” Rey chided, “I know you mean well but you have got to stop doing that.”

“I know but-”

“Enough.” Ben’ drummed his fingers methodically on the tabletop. “Dameron, you’re the one I’m worried about.”

Ben nailed him to the spot with his eyes, “I need you to listen, and listen well, all of you. This is not a light matter. Our society only has 3 rules, one of them is to never reveal our existence to humans. It’s punished by dead and our lives,” He looked at Rey, making sure she followed the  
deception, “depend on your silence.”

“Not to be overly blunt, but why are we still alive then?” Rose asked.

“Rose!”

“What? It’s a fair question. Historically speaking, didn’t vampires just kill anyone who got in their way?” She directed this question at Ben.

“Before the Great Purge maybe but not anymore. Not killing humans and not turning anyone unwillingly are our other two laws. Plus, I would hope that you trust your friend to not intentionally kill you and it would hurt her so that makes you safe from me.”

That comforting yet terrifying warmth filled her chest when she looked at him gratefully. He met her eyes and smiled slightly. 

Unnoticed by them, the others looked at each other meaningfully.

“What now then? How long are you going to stay here? Can we visit?” Rose sounded so  
hopeful, “When are you going to come back?”

When was she going to go back? Did she even want to go back to that life still? She wanted to finish her degree and she didn’t want to abandon her friends, but… 

Ben’s thumb slid across her knuckles soothingly after several seconds passed and she still hadn’t responded. “I wouldn’t recommend it yet but if you think you’re ready-” 

“No!” Rey panicked at the thought of trying to live among humans again, “No. I think today proved I’m not even close to ready. I can’t leave yet.” Maybe not ever.

She turned back to Rose. “I’m going to try to come back to school next semester. But, I’m sure you can visit?”

She looked to Ben for approval since this was still his house. He nodded, somewhat reluctantly, 

“If you give us warning and knock like civilized people.”

Sheepishly they promised to do so next time.

There was a lull momentarily before Poe couldn’t take it anymore. “What happened that night?”

Images of that night flashed behind her eyes. She tensed, unprepared for the sudden onslaught of memories. Teedo stalking closer, his red eyes, her arms being forced above her head and the phantom pain where his teeth had ripped into her throat. 

Ben must have been able to guess what was happening because he let go of her hand to rub gentle soothing circles into the base of her neck. 

“You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.”

“I-” She shut her eyes hard, trying to block out the image of her own blood soaking her shirt. The memory of her own blood was making her thirsty and then disgusted with herself at the same time. With the bottle clutched in her hand, she pushed back from the table and stood up. “You tell them. I need a minute.”  
___  
Ben watched her go, his gaze lingering a little longer than strictly necessary. When he turned back to the trio of intruders they were staring at him suspiciously.

“What?” He griped.

“You’re in love with her.” 

He cringed inwardly, subtly had never been his strong suit, honestly, it was a miracle and a curse that Rey herself hadn’t said anything about it. 

He scoffed, trying to deny their accusation. “I’m sure you can see yourselves out since you let yourselves in,”

His sudden declaration started them and he was halfway to the door before Rose stepped in front of him, her arms stretch out as though her presence was enough to stop him.

He could have easily just plowed past her but he wasn’t that rude. Instead, he folded his arms over his chest and glared down at Rey’s shortest and bravest friend. 

“We’re sorry, please don’t leave, all of us have been so worried about Rey so forgive us if we don’t have the best filters right now.”

She sounded so sincere that he sighed and uncrossed his arms, tucking his hands in his pockets. “You wanted to know what happened. Teedo ambushed and nearly killed her. As soon as I got away from Poe, I tried to get there in time but she was too far gone. The only way to save her was to turn her.”

“And she chose that?” Poe said accusatorily.

“Yes.”

Rey stepped back into the dining room, noticeably more in control of herself.

“There is still so much I want from my life,” she continued, “He gave me a chance and I took it.” 

The way she was looking at him took his breath away. Her unsaid meaning was clear. 

Somewhere between this morning in the garden and this moment, Rey had come to terms with her new existence. He smiled at her trying to communicate silently how relieved he was. The guilt that he had changed her in such a state a desperation had been eating away at him since he did it. Changing her had been selfish, he couldn’t deny it. Maybe one day he’ll be able to shake this guilt completely but for now, the burden was lessened and for that he was grateful.

Rey slowly and purposefully hugged each of her friends in turn. “Thank you for looking out for me.” She murmured.

“I want you to visit soon but for now, this is about as much human interaction as I can handle.”

Finn’s face fell and he was about to say something but Rose elbowed him in the gut. “We understand. And next time we’ll knock.”


	10. Past and Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben's past is revealed and the future is discussed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this took almost a month... I'm super excited for this chapter, I hope y'all like it! The epilogue is half-written and will be up sometime~~

They watched from the doorway as the bright orange car drove away and into the distance. 

“Would you-”

“Do you want to-” They spoke over each other but broke off at the realization both cracking a small smile.

“I think we should go for a walk,” Rey stated with an air of confidence that didn’t quite reach her eyes. 

Ben swallowed and nodded.

They walked leisurely across the front yard and into the gold and scarlet tinged woods beyond without saying a word. The trees creaked in the wind that danced through the scattered trunks. It played with their hair, especially Rey’s, sending it around her cheeks and into her eyes. The further in they walked the thicker the undergrowth litter grew. The leaves crunched under their feet until they came to a small clearing filled with billowing grasses. The ruins of a stone arch marked a second path on the other side of the clearing. They sat on a fallen tree, letting the sounds of the forest wash over them. 

He turned towards her, their knees touching slightly, and withdrew from his inner coat pocket a small book bound in soft black leather. He held it out to her with admirably steady hands considering the contents.

“It’s all in here,” She blinked at him, confused, “Palpatine, Snoke, The Skywalkers… me… This is the whole story, as best as I can remember.”

She smiled kindly and took the offered book but merely held it in her small hands. “I’m happy to read it, but there are a few things I need clarification on first.”

He gulped and nodded, “Me too, or at least some things I need to say. I- I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” 

“Oh, Ben… You did save me,” she caressed his hand with her thumb.

“You really think that?” his surprise evident on his face

“I do,” she assured him.

“I’m sorry for what happened after you woke up. That could have been handled… better.”

“It could have been worse,” she shrugged

He shot her a disbelieving look, “I left you sobbing on the ground,”

“Okay so that wasn’t ideal but what was the alternative? You were a stranger in a terrifying mask who just shattered my whole world view. I wouldn’t have listened to any comfort you could have given and it’s not like you could’ve not told me I was a vampire now.”

“You’re not going to let me keep feeling guilty about this aren’t you?” 

“Nope. I’ve decided that’s my job. To help you see just how good you are.”

He snorted. “We’ll see.” There was enough of a faint trace of genuine hope that Rey didn’t push the issue.

“One of the things I wanted to say was, this morning… What I said I didn’t know if it would have been better if I’d died.”

Ben’s guilt rose at the repetition of her words.

“Today with my friends, and with you,” she looked at him with such a depth of emotion in nearly jump-started his long-dead heart. 

“It reminded me of all the good things I still have. I’m glad you saved me” She stopped and took Ben’s hands in her own, meeting his eyes confidently. “Thank you for saving me. Thank you for helping me through this, for letting me stay with you, for being so good to me.”

Ben swallowed nervously, “I’m glad that you’re not hurting as much,” it was his turn to take her hand, “I have to admit though that I don’t quite understand why you don’t hate me.”

Rey reached up to cup his face, all of the uncertainty and hurt at his revelation had been healed by the conversation she’d overheard. If her friends could see his affection for her too then maybe it wasn’t as far fetched as she’d been trying to convince herself. She might admit this to him one day but not now. Instead, “You don’t tell people who you are, do you?”

“Um, no. I like my anonymity, it’s the only reason I use that blasted mask.”

“I thought so. I’m honored that you trust me enough to tell you. I’m weighing one small lie of omission against weeks of patient kindness and understanding, and I see no reason to hate you.”

He removed her hand gently and placed it back on the book. “I don’t think you would say that if you knew everything…”

She curled her hand around his defiantly. “That’s for me to decide. And this is one story I need to hear from you.”

She cut off his incoming protest, “Ben, I’m more than happy to read what you’ve written, but I want to hear it from you, please.”

He shrunk into himself but nodded. He’d been grappling with this all day but the time had come. 

He’d been fighting his feelings for weeks but today with everything that had happened, this morning in the garden, his confession, her friends’ accusations, he couldn’t deny it any longer.

He loved her. 

So he had to tell her.

It had almost slipped out that morning in the garden when he’d held her in his arms but he’d chickened out and decided to hide behind the book sitting forgotten between them. This afternoon’s debacle could have been avoided if he’d just been less of a coward. 

He groaned and rubbed a hand down his face. “Alright, alright, I’ll tell you.”

She laced her fingers between his and settled in to listen.

“Remember in class I said Kylo Ren was the son of Leia Organa, one of the leaders of the revolution? My parents and my uncle raised me to hate vampires, but then behind closed doors, I heard them whispering how I was too much like Vader. You won’t find much about him in history books. There are some things about my family that I didn’t want to broadcast to the world. Vader was Palpatine’s, right-hand man. He was a renowned vampire hunter, one of the best, but Palpatine found him and manipulated him for years until he cracked. Palpatine made him one of us and in the initial bloodlust he killed his wife.”

“So there I was, a child, and that was the man everyone said I was like. I grew to doubt and fear myself, my parents sent me to train to be a hunter with my uncle, hoping that would help me but they didn’t understand that what scared me was myself, becoming like him. So when Snoke, who had always been on the fringes of my childhood, who had always listened to me and was the only one I thought I could trust, told me that my parents would be happier without me, that I should leave my uncle’s apprenticeship and join him, I listened.”

___

_ “Where do you think you’re going?” _

_ Ben froze, his hands still in the rucksack, “I already told you,” he kept his eyes on the bag, purposely ignoring his uncle. _

_ Luke grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn. _

_ “I’m disappointed in you Ben. You would turn your back on this family for a man who openly supports vampires?!” _

_ He thrust the crinkled letter in his clenched fist into his nephew’s face. _

_ Ben snatched it from him, anger coursed through his veins. _

_ “That is my private correspondence, it is none of your business!” _

_ “It is if it concerns my family and those monsters. You’re staying.” _

_ Ben snapped, “Oh now we’re a family? For years you’ve discouraged our familial connection but now when your pride is on the line, now we’re family? I have had enough. I’m going.” _

_____

“He tried to stop me, he started yelling that I’d already been turned and tried to kill me,” he released her hand to lift the hems of his shirt and coat up a few inches revealing an angry scar in his side above his hip. 

Rey’s eyes widened. “Skywalker did this?” Anger flashed in her eyes.

He pulled his shirt back down, “Yes. It’s the wound that killed me eventually. I escaped my uncle and made my way to the rendezvous point.”

____

_ He’d never ran so hard in his life. Panting from exertion and pain he collapsed in the safety of the forest, falling heavily against a tree he grunted in pain. Blood saturated his tunic leaving his side covered in the slick red liquid that trickled down his leg. His head hung heavy from his neck, the blood loss was starting to affect him. _

_ The ground came up to meet him when he fell. As he lay there waiting to die a pair of booted feet came closer and closer until they stopped in front of him. _

_ “My boy, what has he done to you?” _

  
  


_ ____ _

“Snoke changed me that night. He was old, one of the ancients, and hid his scent so well that none of us ever knew he was a vampire.” He clenched his fist. “ I hated myself and my existence, I wished that Luke had aimed a little higher when he stabbed me. Snoke-” 

Rey watched the anger fade out of his eyes to be replaced with a clinical mask. 

“Snoke had a method for instilling loyalty. He withheld blood from me for months at a time until I was mad with starvation. Then-” he gulped, “Then he’d lock a human in with me in my cell.”

He misread her horrified expression. “I couldn't stop myself, by then I didn’t have a conscious thought in my head outside of the need for blood. It was like waking up from a nightmare but with a dead body at my feet knowing that I killed them.”

He paused there to scan her face.

“You were part of the revolution, I already assumed that you’ve killed people. And what you just described was in no way your fault,” she told him firmly. “Tell me the rest.”

“Once I was dependent on him, Snoke sent his fledgling army out against the hunters’ allies from the great purge. We were picking them off one at a time.”

______

_ Smoke rose thick and pungent from the charred remains of the village. The Knights of Ren had been ordered to exterminate the villagers for the crime of harboring a hunter. It was short work. _

_ The woman’s useless struggle started to fade as he drained the precious lifeblood from her. _

_ A sound caught his attention. _

_ Blood dripped from his mouth when he looked up with narrowed eyes that scanned the horizon. _

_ Kylo dropped the woman to snatch the blood-soaked stake from the air, stopping it inches from his heart. _

_ The wind picked up, shifting the smoke so that the hazy figure of the hunter became clear. _

_ The stake shattered in his grasp and the pieces fell to the ground with a clatter. _

_ Mother. _

_ The crossbow followed the shattered bolt as Leia’s hands flew up to cover her mouth in horror her eyes blown wide with shock. _

_ She didn’t know. _

_ “Ben?” _

_ He was at her side in an instant taking her hand and leading her away. _

_ “You can’t be here. Snoke is coming. If he finds you he’ll kill you, actually, he’ll make me kill you.” _

_ “You’re alive, all this time, we thought you were dead. Ben please, believe me, we thought you were dead. Come home with me.” She pleaded _

_ He untied Leia’s horse and placed her on it’s back. She took the reins automatically but didn’t leave. _

_ “I am dead. It’s too late for me.” _

_ He could sense someone coming. _

_ “Please, just go! Forget you saw me.” He slapped the horse’s flank. It took off running with Leia twisting in her seat to look at him before she disappeared into the fog. _

_ When he turned back to the village Snoke was standing at the outskirts holding the dropped crossbow and shaking his head in mock disappointment. _

____

“I was locked in a cell for over a year without blood, longer than ever before. Then-” Ben choked, the memories assaulting his mind's eye.

Rey squeezed his hand lightly, “You don’t have to…”

“You need to know.”

____

“_ Ben!” _

_ The shout echoed through cold stone walls. _

_ He had no energy to lift his head. The sound reverberated through his skull. Something about _

_ the voice was familiar but it couldn’t break through the singular thought crowding every part of his psyche. _

_ “Ben!” _

_ Closer this time. _

_ Han. Father. No. No. Don’t find me. Leave. Run. Please God, Don’t let him find me. _

_ The viewport in the cell door slid open with a clang. _

_ “Ben!” _

_ His father’s voice was harsh as it bounced across steel and stone in a room that had been utterly silent for so long. _

_ “Son… What have they done to you? Hold on, I’m coming.” _

_ The latch rattled in place. _

_ Han swore. _

_ “Father…” Ben breathed out, his voice dry and cracking from disuse. “No-” _

_ The lock clicked open. _

_ “Your old man’s still got it,” Han rushed in and knelt beside Ben who shied away as much as his chains would allow. _

_ “I’m going to get you out of here.” _

_ Ben shook his head violently, refusing to breathe. “Leave. Not safe.” _

_ His mind was shredding itself. His humanity was warring against the bloodlust and losing quickly. _

_ Han ignored him and began picking the locks that bound him, “I don’t care about Snoke, you’re my son and I’m not leaving here without you.” _

_ “If you unlock these chains I will kill you. Go. Home.” He begged. _

_ Han’s hands never stilled. “If that is what it takes to set you free then so be it.” _

_ Ben clenched his mouth shut. His air supply had run out rendering him mute. He mustered up the strength to lift his head and meet his father’s eyes, hoping the blazing crimson would scare him off. _

_ But Han didn’t draw back, he just offered Ben that famous Solo smirk that was dripping with acceptance. Even when Han watched the lingering humanity drain from his son’s eyes he still kept undoing the blood-soaked chains that held his son captive, the only things currently keeping him alive. _

_ “I love you, Ben.” _

_ Click. _

_ ____ _

“The worst part is being aware. Being trapped in your mind as your body rebels. When I came back to myself the only thing I cared about was revenge. I killed Snoke that day. The factions all fought each other and in the end there were only a handful of us still alive. I didn’t expect to survive.” 

Ben let his head fall into his hands.

Rey waited patiently, rubbing soothing circles into his back.

“No matter how much time passes that memory never gets easier.”

There are things left unsaid that Rey can read between the lines. 

_ He wishes his father had left him. _

Rey gently nudged him to look up and cupped his face in her hand. 

“He did it because he loved you. He would be proud of who you’ve become.”

He smiled weakly. “That’s what led me to do what I did. That and my mother.”

“Tell me.”

_____

_ The body of Han Solo had been laid to rest next to the empty grave of his son. The funeral had been small, only Leia, his uncles, and a somber preacher stood by the grave. Ben watched at a distance as the mourners slowly scattered until only his mother remained. _

_ “I know you’re there.” _

_ He jumped from his hiding place in the trees and dropped to the ground beside her. _

_ “It wasn’t you I was hiding from.” _

_ She hummed noncommittally. “Luke?” _

_ His silence was enough of an answer. _

_ “Thank you for bringing his body back.” _

_ He hung his head in shame. “You shouldn’t thank me.” His voice warned not to ask. _

_ She closed her eyes heavily and breathed out. _

_ “Did you send him?” _

_ “He wanted to go. We thought you were dead. Luke…” _

_ Ben turned away but kept listening. _

_ “Luke told us you started a fight and ended up falling off a cliff. That’s why there was no body.” _

_ “And you believed him?” He snapped, “When did I ever start fights? All I ever did was try to be good enough for you!” _

_ “You were a troubled child! We hadn’t seen you for years! We-” _

_ “Exactly! You hadn’t seen me for years! And if you had you would know that the training temple was on flat ground, 50 miles away from a single cliff!” _

_ Leia’s face drained of color. _

_ “All I ever wanted was your time and you sent me to a murderer.” _

_ Leia started to protest. _

_ “Not Snoke. Luke. Snoke changed me, but it was Luke who killed me.” _

_ “I am so sorry Ben.” _

_ “You should never apologize to me.” _

_ He turned back to the fresh grave, unable to face her. _

_ “I killed him. Snoke was starving me as punishment for helping you escape.” _

_ “That was over a year ago,” Leia whispered. _

_ “I know. That’s the state he found me in. I told him to leave me but he wouldn’t, he knew I would kill him but he still set me free. I couldn’t stop myself, I swear I tried I couldn’t-” _

_ That’s when he broke. He fell to his knees at her feet. _

_ “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” _

_ She wrapped his shaking body up in her tiny but strong arms. _

_ “He did what he set out to do, he sent our son home.” _

_ ____ _

“It was my mother that came up with our laws. She spent the rest of her life teaching me how to lead, helping me change things for the better.”

“Would she be upset with you for,” Rey bit her lip deciding on phrasing, “for bending the rules for me?”

Ben shook his head smiling softly. “No, she was always more a spirit of the law over the letter of the law type. The way I see it,” He stood and pulled her up off the log ”You didn’t actually bite Poe, and I should have done a better job at covering my tracks, they shouldn’t have been able to find those records.” He cupped her cheek in his hand, “And honestly, no matter what you did I wouldn’t have done anything about it and I never will.”

“Why?” Rey didn’t understand. Was this the same stickler for rules she had met at the start of term?

“Because I know you, you’re a good person and you would never hurt anyone on purpose like that. But-” He bit his lip, “More than that it’s because I care about you.”

Rey stared up at him through her lashes, unsure what to say. Caring can mean many things. 

“You mean the world to me,” he admitted.

“What are you trying to say, Ben?”

“I think you know.”

He stepped closer.

“I want to hear you say it.”

She closed the gap.

“Rey I love-”

She crashed into him with the force of a dam that had broken free. She kissed him fiercely trying to pour all of the emotions that had been yet left unsaid into it. 

She gripped the collar of his coat and pulled him closer.

He responded in turn, kissing her back with those gloriously soft lips of his.

His hands slipped under her coat leaving her shivering with pleasure in their wake. 

They broke apart breathing heavily. He pulled her into his chest and placed his forehead on hers. She caressed the backs of his ears that were poking through his kiss tousled hair.

“You were so worried your history would scare me off. Have I convinced you that that’s not going to happen?”

He smiled and pressed a kiss to her nose, “I could be convinced more,” he teased.

She laughed and continued, “Your story showed me that you’re a complicated man who was put through hell but chose to be a good person anyway. You fought for your family and that could never scare me away. It just makes me love you more.”

“You love me?” He whispered.

Weeks of second-guessing and anxiety fell from his shoulders.

She smiled and teasingly rolled her eyes. “Yes, I love you! I love that you have been so steadfast in taking my moods with gentleness and understanding. I love that I can talk with you for hours. I love that you are literally the king of vampires but your human drink of choice is hot chocolate.”

He was laughing now, grinning at the memory.

That grin did things to her.

“I love you” he sighed.

They could have stood there in that meadow for years exchanging those three beautiful words.

“I want to stay-” She stopped herself before she could finish, suddenly embarrassed at how forward she was being.

“I, uh,” she stammered, a little overwhelmed by what she had unconsciously realized. All the pieces fell together and formed a picture of what she wanted. This place felt like home because it was where he was. Ben was home. And she never wants to leave. 

“Please say something,” she mumbled. Her old insecurities that had held her back from any meaningful relationships before were rising and making her question herself. _ He’s 400 years old, what if I’m just temporary to him? He almost said it, I should have let him finish. _

He threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her face to his chest and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “What do you need me to say?” 

A kiss to her cheek.

“That I love you?”

Kisses along her jawline.

“Because I do. With my entire soul. And I’ll tell you every day as long as you’ll let me.”

A hot string of kisses down her neck that made her brain short circuit. Nothing had ever felt as good as his lips over her pulse point.

“Say it. I won’t interrupt this time,” She begged, trying to keep her eyes open.

He took her face in both of his hands. They drowned in each other's eyes the moment before the words spilled from his lips.

“I love you. Please stay. I want you to stay. For however long you’ll have me.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. He panicked, thinking he’d said something to offend her.

She smiled reassuringly, “I’ve never been wanted before,” she admitted, “It’s a nice feeling.”

He shifted his thumb to wipe away a tear threatening to spill onto her cheek.

“I want you,” his voice was thick and husky, “In every way”. 

She hummed contently, hopeful for the future, “Let’s go home.”

He shared in her hope and smiled brightly. He pulled her up to him and kissed her softly.

“Home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really proud of myself I actually finished a 'long' fic (the epilogue doesn't count I'm still proud).  
Thanks for reading y'all


	11. Epilogue: Eternity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooth-rotting fluff and maybe a wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's done! Thank you everyone who has read and given kudos and commented on this fic! And especially thank you to [tmwillson3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmwillson3/pseuds/tmwillson3), [dawninthemtn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dawninthemtn/pseuds/dawninthemtn), [DarkMage13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkMage13/pseuds/DarkMage13), & [BurntKloverfield](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurntKloverfield/pseuds/BurntKloverfield) who beta'd for me along the way.

Winter came with a vengeance that year. The temperature fell with the snow that piled higher and higher over the landscape. 

With her now endless time and pent up energy and creativity, she had asked Ben to help her construct a life-sized snow castle. Her structural engineering background combined with his encyclopedic knowledge of architecture (and a few other dozen subjects) resulted in a three-story structure complete with central tower with a spiral staircase and rows and rows of Gothic arches. And then because they could, they built an army of snowmen to guard their castle.

Today Rey spent the hours that Ben had to teach scrolling through Youtube videos looking for ideas on DIY Christmas presents. She hadn’t known about his birthday in November until several days after the fact, and she was determined to make up for it at Christmas. The problem was the man already had everything he could possibly want.

She stretched and looked at the clock, half-past four. 

_ That’s odd; he usually finds me by now.  _

Rey closed her laptop and set off to look for him. Or she would have, except for the pile of roses surrounding a wax-sealed letter on the floor outside her door.

Rey fingered the heavyweight paper gently while she admired the way her name was written across the front in beautiful sweeping calligraphy. She broke the seal and pulled out a letter written in the same script

_ Rey, _

_ Meet me in our castle. I love you. _

_ -Ben _

She hugged the letter to her chest and bounced a little on the balls of her feet. Ben had been asking probing questions recently, most obviously when he asked what her opinion on marriage was. She had a sneaking suspicion about what was going on here, and it thrilled her. Sometimes it scared her how quickly she had fallen for him, but she didn’t let that deter her. 

She loved him.

She wanted to spend her life with him.

Rey had never been surer of anything in her life. It really was as simple as that. If he asked her, and she hoped and prayed that he would, she would say yes.

___

He hadn’t said which room he would be in, but upon her entry, she found two rows of candles gently flickering in the snow that led her upstairs. She took her time climbing the stairs. She held one of the roses between her fingers, pulling out the petals one at a time and dropping them behind her.

Ben came into view at the top of the stairs. He hadn’t changed from work, still wearing his black button-up and slacks, but he had unbuttoned the top button and rolled his sleeves up in the way he knew drove her crazy. 

He stepped forward and kissed her as he wrapped his arms around her. 

She smiled into the kiss before breaking away by a mere millimeter. 

“Hi.”

He chuckled, “Hi.”

She leaned to one side to peak at the room behind him. There were more candles and flowers placed around the room and in the center, there was a pile of blankets spread out.

“Ben, this is beautiful,” she gushed.

He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. “I may have asked Rose for suggestions on what you would like.”

He took her hand and led her to the pile of soft blankets. 

“That just makes this even better,” She told him, “Asking my best friend for my preferences is very sweet.” 

“She said your favorite flower was daffodils but those are impossible to find in December,” He unfolded a bit of blanket that was covering a small bunch of yellow spray roses and tucked the stem behind her ear, “I hope the fact that these are still yellow makes up for that.”

She laughed and reached up to feel the soft petals, “They’re beautiful. I love them, thank you”.

“Anything for you.”

They fell into easy conversation describing their days over the hot chocolate that Ben had uncovered. The room was cold, not that either of them could feel it but it glowed as the last rays of daylight seeped through the walls. The flickering candlelight slowly grew brighter in the absence of the sun casting the room in their warm light.

When the last rays of daylight were well and truly gone and the hot chocolate had been depleted Ben and Rey laid down on the blankets and watched the stars through the arched windows.

Rey shifted to lay her head on his chest and sighed when he started trailing his fingers lazily over her back. 

“Can we stay like this forever?” she whispered.

“In this exact position?” he teased, “We may have a problem when spring rolls around…”

She poked him in the ribs but laughed nonetheless.

“I know what you mean,” he conceded.

“And,” he paused, choosing his words carefully, “I’ve been thinking about that.”

Rey raised her head to look at him and couldn’t resist letting the hope shine through her eyes.

“I’ve been thinking about it too,” she assured him.

He sat up, pulling her with him until they were both on their knees.

“I would get down on one knee, but uh…”

Rey laughed and kissed him, “This is more comfortable.”

They laughed together for a few moments, feeding off of each other’s happiness.

“Rey,” He brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear, “May I ask you a question?”

She nodded enthusiastically, not trusting her voice for fear she would start crying out of joy.

“I know we haven’t known each other very long and we’ve been together for even less, but I know my mind and I love you. I love you and I want to spend every moment of our very long lives together. I may be old fashioned, but I’m hoping that you will do me the honor of marrying me.” 

He withdrew a simple red velvet ring box from his pocket as he spoke. Inside were a set of antique gold rings that were stacked together to form two hands reaching for a ruby heart. 

“Yes. Always yes. I want to marry you so badly,” she rushed over the words making them all mush together but Ben appeared to get the message if the mile-wide grin was anything to go by.

He took the rings from the box and separated them before he slid one onto her ring finger. 

“It’s called a gimmel ring,” he explained, correctly assuming that she didn’t know what it was. “It was the custom from my time for the groom to give his fiance half of the ring and where the other half himself until the wedding when he gave her the other half.”

“That’s so beautiful. Are the hands traditional?” she asked.

He nodded, “They always had two hands reaching for each other. I used to play with this ring as a child and she gave it to me before she died. She probably didn’t think it would take me nearly 400 years to find someone to give it to.”

Rey’s eyes widened. “This was your mother’s ring?” 

“Is that okay?” Ben asked nervously, “We can definitely find you something else if you’d prefer, I just had this one and I wanted to use it to ask you but-”

Rey cut him off by pulling him to his feet and kissing him. “I want to use it. It makes me feel like I’m really part of your family even if I’ve never met them.”

He smiled softly, “I really wouldn’t have minded but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glad that you want to use it. It’s just been sitting for so long. She would have loved you, my father, too.”

Rey wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him with her face pressed into his collar bone. “I want to take your name. I want to be your family.”

“Are you sure? I know that’s not so common anymore…”

“Ben, we’re immortal in case you forgot,” she deadpanned, “I don’t care what’s common or not now. If I want to be traditional then changing social norms won’t stop me. By that line of reasoning, I wouldn’t be marrying you either. But I want to marry you. I want to be traditional.”

He kissed her forehead, “Say that again.”

“I want to be traditional?”

“No, that you want to marry me,” he murmured as he wove his fingers into her hair and gently pulled her lips up to his.

She hummed against his lips and when they parted she said, “I want to marry you so badly I’d marry you tomorrow if I could.” She pressed a series of kisses down his neck that left him speechless and breathing heavily for a moment.

“What’s stopping us?” He managed to say.

“Don’t we need a marriage license or something? I don’t actually know how this works legally but I’m assuming it would take longer than a day.”

“If you want to get married by human laws yes,” He hedged.

“Is that to say there’s a vampire marriage ceremony?” She asked.

He nodded, “Vampires almost exclusively mate for life. When there were more of us couples like us were fairly common because one of them would have been waiting to find the right partner. The binding ceremony usually only has one witness. It’s a very private thing because the couples drink from each other to seal their vows.”

Rey leaned back in his arms to get a better look at his face. “We drink from each other?” She must have looked disgusted because he hurried to explain.

“It only has to be a few drops. More than anything it marks both of us as taken to other vampires. We don’t have to get married that way if you don’t want to. As long as somewhere it officially says that Ben Solo is married to Rey Niima I’ll be happy.”

She nodded thoughtfully, mulling his words over. “Where would we-” she scrunched up her nose, “-bite each other? I’m not opposed to the idea I just want to know what will happen.”

“The inner left wrist. The mark will never fade, it’s like a ring check for vampires.”

“Then are rings not traditionally used in vampire weddings?”

“Depends on the couple and what culture they came from originally.”

Rey fiddled with the half ring on her finger, the ruby sparkled in the faint candlelight. 

“So all we need is another vampire to witness?”

He nodded. “I know someone who would be willing to witness for us whenever you’re ready.”

She thought that over for a while considering timing before a thought occurred to her. “My friends are going to be upset I didn’t invite them but they can’t exactly be there if another vampire has to watch us drink each other's blood.”

“We could get married the human way too and invite them if that would help?” He offered.

She smiled relieved. “That works perfectly.”

___

After planning into the early hours of the morning (though it wouldn’t have taken that long had they been able to stop kissing for more than ten minutes at a time) they decided to marry in three days at the new moon so the stars would be brightest. When Rey asked who he had in mind he said it was someone she knew and he wanted it to be a surprise. She had glared at him suspiciously but let him get away with it.

They didn’t have to worry about most of the usual wedding planning things due to the nature of the ceremony. The dress though was going to be a problem. Rose and the others had brought Rey the rest of her clothes and a few other things from her apartment on their first visit back but the one dress she owned was a black T-shirt dress she’d gotten from a donation bin when she was 17. Rey considered asking Rose to go buy a plain white dress for her but then Rose would want to know why and Rey didn’t want to tell her friends until after the fact.

When she mentioned this to Ben the next afternoon in the kitchen an unreadable expression crossed his face. 

“... I may have a dress that could work down in the basement.”

Rey put her glass down and stared at him.

“You  _ might _ have a wedding dress in your basement?” She quirked an eyebrow. “Also, we have a basement???”

He smirked. “Come on I’ll show you.”

Turns out, they didn’t just have a basement. They had a labyrinthine basement bigger than the rest of the house put together that was  _ only  _ accessible by a secret entrance in the garage.

“You’re incredibly extra you know that right?”

“Extra?”

“Modern slang has gotten the best of you again.” 

“Ah. Is it like going above and beyond?” he guessed.

“Bingo.”

The banter continued as he navigated them through rows and rows of storage shelves until they finally came to a stop in front of an antique oak wardrobe. 

He stood in front of it blocking the doors for a moment and turned to face her with pursed lips. “I don’t want you getting the wrong idea of why I have this. It’s not from some past lover.”

She tilted her head and squinted at him. “Why are you being so weird about this? We’ve already talked about your romantic history or lack thereof and I believe you.”

“I let a bunch of historical romances film at the house back in the 60s and 70s and they left some of the costumes here.” He said in a hurry. He shifted guiltily and Rey knew there was more to this story.

“Spit it out, Ben.”

“Spit what out?” He asked innocently.

“Don’t play dumb, just tell me.”

“One of them was this medieval book adaptation… thing… and they may have annoyed me until I agreed to play ‘moody nameless vampire number three.’”

Rey burst out howling with laughter.

Ben glared at her without any real menace.

Rey clutched her sides “Sorry, sorry, I’m just picturing you in the background of some movie rolling your eyes at historical inaccuracies. Please tell me you have a copy of this movie.”

“The only reason I agreed was because they let me revise the script to make it less awful. I couldn’t do anything about the idiot playing me.” He grumbled.

“Playing you!?”

Ben winced, he hadn’t meant to say that.

“It was about the Great Purge and the Revolution. I keep track of any media that’s based on it to make sure they don’t get too close to the truth. It was bad enough to edit history books before they invented film. Now I have to deal with idiot actors and even more idiotic producers and scriptwriters.” 

“Thank you for your valiant sacrifice. Vampire-kind is indebted to you,” she teased.

“Do you want to see the dress or not?” He groused.

She reached up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Yes, please.”

He got out of the way and opened the doors for her. She shifted the various garment bags around looking through the clear plastic fronts for anything white. The fourth bag held something white and she took off the rod, surprised at the easy but substantial weight. She handed it to Ben who held it up for her without complaint. With the zipper undone layers of silk and chiffon spilled out. The bodice was embroidered with white and silver thread in floral patterns that continued up the high neckline and down the sleeves to the elbows where draping bell sleeves trailed gracefully from the seams. 

“Ben,” she breathed, “I have bad news.”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Something tells me though it wasn’t the most accurately costumed movie.” 

Ben shoved her playfully, “Okay smarty do you have any better ideas then?”

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding! I love the dress, it's gorgeous.” She lifted it slightly to see the back, “And it has a corset back so it looks like it might fit.”

“Oh, I didn’t even think about that,” Ben admitted.

Rey snickered and zipped the bag up after shoving the skirt back in. “You, my love, are amazing. Please never change.” She kissed his cheek and took his hand as they headed back upstairs.

“Then it’s a good thing we’re both stuck like this isn’t it?”

___

They’d decided to hold the wedding under the stars and the skies thankfully cooperated by giving them a cloudless night. Ben had been gone most of the day ‘setting up’ what setup was required for them to bite each other’s wrists. Rey didn’t know but he’d left before she could get any more out of him. 

She didn’t have to spend the day alone though because Ben had brought the witness to the house in the early afternoon.

_ “Maz!?” Rey cried with joy when the tiny woman walked in with Ben. _

_ Maz wrapped Rey in a motherly embrace. “Didn’t I once tell you, child, that the belonging you sought was ahead, not behind?” _

_ “Something like that.” Rey quipped, “When Ben said there was a vampire we both knew I thought he meant Chirrut or one of the generals.” _

_ Rey had missed her old boss. She had been like an eccentric aunt, not that Rey knew personally what that was like but she figured Maz embodied the idea. _

_ “I’m glad things have worked out for you.” _

_ “Did you know what was going on with Ben and Teedo and everything?” Rey asked _

_ “Of course I knew! I was the one who called Ben that first night Teedo came to the Cantina.” _

_ Rey glanced at Ben who had taken up a position leaning against the wall. His hair was windswept in the way it got when he ran. He saw her glance and nodded in confirmation. _

_ He left after that and Rey spent the afternoon with Maz doing her own preparations. _

_ Maz led Rey outside and had her gather branches and sprigs of berries she clipped from evergreens surrounding the house and on the edge of the forest. With their bundle of greenery they, mostly Maz, assembled a bouquet and crown using the flowers Ben had given her when he proposed. Rey had watched with curious eyes as Maz had placed sprigs of greenery into her hand that she held in a clawed cupping shape. Five gorgeous white garden roses followed the greens. The end result was stunning. The native greens and berries combined with the elegant roses came together in the sort of rustic elegance that Rey had seen over and over on Pinterest. _

_ ___ _

Maz had to stand on a stool to reach the top laces of the dress. There were nearly ten feet of ribbon to thread through the corsets loops. They spoke of nothing and everything as Maz slowly laced Rey into the dress. She couldn’t help but wonder if this is what it felt like to have a mother.

“Are you nervous for tonight dear?”

Rey resisted the urge to turn and face her. “Not for the ceremony.”

Ever the perceptive one, without missing a beat Maz asked, “Then for what?” Her hands stilled momentarily, “Are you two waiting until after?”

Rey would have flushed deep red if she could. “Maz!”

The tiny woman snorted in amusement. “I’m over 1000 years old child. I have no qualms about asking probing questions. By your reaction, I’m going to assume that you haven’t.”

Rey thought for a long time before responding. In the short time since they admitted they loved each other, they had agreed to take it slow physically. Ben, being the incredibly patient man he was, had been content to go at Rey’s pace. It was one of the most endearing things about him. She never felt pressured to go further than she felt comfortable with.

“We haven’t. I uh, I’ve never um,” She tried to forget past versions of this conversation that always ended in mockery. “It was never something that appealed to me before Ben. I watched it cause so much trouble for people that I told myself that I wanted to wait for a committed relationship and for me that was always marriage. I’ve wanted to belong with someone for so long.”

With a final cinch, Maz tucked the ribbon tails beneath the skirt and came around to face Rey. Maz took Rey’s hands in her leathery old ones, “And after tonight you will.”

____ 

The silk of Rey’s skirt slid smoothly across the surface of snow that shone despite the dark. A crown of cedar and tiny yellow roses sat atop her dark hair that Maz had helped her curl. The path they had taken that fateful day was snowed over but was now lined with the same candles that had lit her path the other night. The only sound was the gentle crunching of snow under their feet.

Once they entered the clearing the distant mountain peaks became visible once again. The snow-covered meadow shone like crystal in the starlight. The candle lined path led them across the meadow to the stone ruins on the other side. There was an arch made of aspen logs covered in evergreen branches standing between the stone pillars. In front of the arch was a stone altar that was low enough to kneel at.

And waiting in front of it all was Ben.

Rey beamed at the sight of him. He was dressed simply in black slacks, a white dress shirt with the top button undone and a high collared black wool coat with gold militaresque embroidery down the front.

Ben smiled back and hurried toward her to meet Rey’s own quickened pace. He caught her in his arms and spun her around as they both laughed, the skirt of her dress flared out and wrapped around her legs when her feet touched the ground again.

“Are you ready?” Ben asked breathlessly.

“Always.”

Ben took her hand and led her to one side of the altar. She knelt and continued to hold his hand as he knelt beside her. Once situated they looked to Maz who had taken up her place on the other side of the altar underneath the arch.

“I’m honored you’ve asked me to witness,” Maz began, “If I may offer you one piece of advice, be each other’s advisor and confidant, listen to each other, protect each other.”

Ben rubbed Rey’s hand with his thumb and smiled at her, a gesture she returned with her whole heart.

“If you’re ready,” she opened her arms, “you may proceed,” Maz took a half step back and clasped her hands in front of her.

They turned slightly to face each other.

“Do you remember how?” Ben asked.

Rey nodded and shifted her grip to the interlocking one Ben had taught her yesterday that exposed their wrists.

She took a steadying breath and recited the words they’d memorized together. “With your blood, I, Rey Niima, bind myself to you, Benjamin Skywalker Solo. In times of peace and in hardship, in happiness and in sorrow, come what may, we are bound for eternity.”

Her eyes never left his as she brought his wrist to her mouth, as she broke the skin with her teeth, as she drank his blood. She placed a kiss over the wound before she moved their still clasped hands back to the center.

Ben repeated the words back to her, his voice shook slightly with the emotion that welled up in his eyes. He paused with her wrist at his lips asking permission one last time. She nodded slightly, prepared for the pain that never came. His teeth piercing her skin merely felt like a caress, only the sensation of her blood being sucked away confirmed his bite. Rey never expected that it would have felt  _ good. _ She sighed and Ben smirked at her over the top of their clasped hands.

Eventually, he set their hands down on the altar. Maz stepped forward again to wrap a red silk ribbon in an infinite loop around their wrists. She smiled as she straightened. “Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Solo.”

When they kissed, Rey felt sure that the world had stopped spinning around the sun and that everything now revolved around the man before her. Her husband. She would never be alone again.

They were lost in each other’s embrace and didn’t notice when Maz slipped away laughing to herself and shaking her head.

When they realized they were alone now they laughed.

Rey wiped her eyes, “I think we got a bit carried away…”

“Nothing phases that woman anymore, she’ll be fine,” Ben chuckled.

With his free hand, he untied the ribbon from around their wrists and pocketed it. “May I give you the other half of your ring now?”

“Yes, Husband, you may,” Rey smiled at the please look that crossed Ben’s face at the title.

The other ring hung on a thin gold chain over his heart. When he slid it onto her finger it fit together perfectly, the reaching hands finally connecting.

“Now Wife,” he kissed her softly, “I would very much like to take you home now if you’ll allow me.” He stood and pulled her to her feet with him.

She pulled him down for a kiss before answering, “Take me home Ben.”

While they walked hand in hand back to the house Rey thought about the vows they had made and about eternity, specifically eternity with Ben. Before this life she had never really thought about what it would be like to live forever. At first, it scared her. She didn’t know how many nights they would have like this one, thousands, perhaps millions, but she wasn’t afraid anymore. She’d found her belonging. She’d found her home. 

As they approached the house he paused and looked up at the stars. “Does it make me selfish if I said I was glad you ended up in my intro class? With all the things that happened because of it?”

She let her eyes follow his towards the heavens. “Not at all,” she squeezed his hand reassuringly, “Or if it does than I’m selfish too. I want this life with you. And if I’d been able to see the future and given the choice I would have chosen this, chosen you.”

He looked down at her with that adorable crooked half-smile. Without warning, he swept her up into a bridal carry and held her close. She laughed at his antics and was still smiling when he set her gently on the bed. 

“I love you,” the way his voice hitched slightly at the end, the way he looked at her like she was his everything like she had hung the stars like she was sacred. It made her heart full to bursting with love for him.

She pulled him down with her, no longer nervous. 

“I know.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is curious this is [Rey's Dress](https://www.elizabethcooperdesign.com/amelia.html)
> 
> If you have a moment let me know what you thought in comments!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Find me on [tumblr](https://pg-13reylo.tumblr.com/)


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